Victory In Song
by ChaosHeart95
Summary: The best friends: Jade and Cat, were kicked out of Hollywood Arts and now have been sent off to live in Lima, Ohio. Their love for music draws them in to joining New Directions, the school's Glee Club. But joining glee has caused a spark to start in the school, will the girls be able to ignite this fire magically to be victorious or will everyone get burned?
1. Chapter 1: Settling In Is Hard

**Victory In Song: **

**A Victorious and Glee Crossover Fanfic**

**Chapter 1: Settling In Is Hard**

"We should be arriving at the place in Lima, Ohio in under twenty minutes" Cat told me showing me the estimated time calculated on her Pear Pad. It showed a small blue circle of our location and our destination not too far off with a red pin stuck in it. It had different street names and all sorts of road marking that I didn't care too much about.

"Finally!" I exclaimed frustrated. "I'm so damn tired of this uncomfortable seat and the lame foreign movies they've been playing the whole ride here!" I continued to complain clenching my fists together.

"I thought that one about the lonely little girl was pretty good" Cat said trying to be optimistic as usual.

"First of all that was a small feminine little boy with long hair and how the hell did you understand it with it being in French?" I asked her.

"I didn't" Cat answered.

"What?" I questioned annoyed with her not making sense, but this was typical Cat so I was pretty much used to this kind of crap.

"What?" Cat questioned me this time.

"Can we get there already?" I shouted in a high voice causing the rest of the passengers to give me looks of disapproval. "Aw screw you guys!" I yelled at them laying back in my seat exasperated with everything.

"Calm down, Jade. Maybe this McKinely High School won't be so bad after all" Cat tried to make me feel better. She really was a good friend who tolerated my horrible attitude all the time.

"Yes, because Lima is a name full of excitement and happiness" I told her sarcastically.

"See, that's much better" Cat said cheerfully. She clearly wasn't good with sarcasm.

"Just drop it Cat" I told her with a sigh.

Cat kept making this face that showed she was indecisive about what to say next. She was trying to come up with a topic that wouldn't make me want to hurt someone. Now that was a challenge. So we sat in silence for about five minutes until she finally came up with something to say.

"It was really cool of your aunt Nancy to come let us stay with her in Ohio" Cat said.

"Yeah, well she's a doctor on call so we won't be seeing much of her too often" I explained to her some of my positive mood back. It would be like living in a nice house with my best friend, how could that be bad? So this gave me a half-smile. That's all I would allow myself to be happy.

"So why does she have two vacant rooms in her house?" Cat asked.

"My two cousins: Haley and Heather used to live there with her but they left off to college now so they're pretty much just sitting there collecting dust" I answered.

"Sweet!" Cat chimed happily.

"Cat..." I trailed off.

"Yeah?" she questioned with a confused look on her face.

"You didn't have to try and cover for me back in LA" I said looking down at my lap unable to look at her directly in the face.

"I wasn't going to let you take all the fall. You wouldn't have gotten into the vicious fight if they hadn't been picking on me" Cat told me.

"I'm sorry you got kicked out of Hollywood Arts too" I apologized sincerely for the first time in a long time.

"It's okay. You saved me from having to live with my horrible uncle and aunt back in LA. This way we still get punished but at least we stay best friends" she said with a soft smile on her face.

I really didn't deserve a friend like Cat. I was a violent and horrible person but she still stood by me no matter what. I had made her lose all of her friends and my own too. She was loyal enough to come out all the way to some small town loser-ville without any complaints.

The rest of the train ride we rode in silence until we finally got off at the train station. From there we took a cab to my aunt's place and boy was it beautiful. It was a two story red brick house with white doors that looked perfect as ever.

We walked up the drive way, luggage rolling on wheels behind us. I found a note from my aunt taped on the front door. The note read:

_Dear Jade, _

_I won't be home until late tonight so I will have to greet you and your friend, Cat then. I left some food in the microwave in case you girls get hungry. You've already been registered for classes and tomorrow morning I will take you both their for your first day. For today just unpack and make yourselves at home. The key into the house is under the mat, so let yourselves in. _

_Yours Truly,_

_Nancy Meyer_

"Yeah, this is totally my aunt's perfect handwriting. She won't be home until super late so tomorrow she will meet us and take us to school. She says everything is set and tomorrow we start our first day" I told Cat unhappily.

"Let's get unpacking" she said in her usual cheery tone.

We made our way inside and found entrance into the beautiful living room. The couches were this elegant black leather and the TV was a huge flat screen.

"Let's get to know the place" I suggested to Cat.

"Kay kay" she answered following me around the house as we examined it all.

The living room had a door on the northern wall which led to a marble kitchen with beautiful appliances that looked very expensive. The door on the western side led to the garage which had another car in there a small red beetle that we would be using to drive around in. The eastern door led to a flight of stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor there were three doors. One in the center that led to the master bedroom and one on each side of that door. The master bedroom was clearly my aunt's room and the other two rooms were for myself and Cat.

"I call right!" Cat exclaimed rushing into the room on the right.

"Any reason for right?" I questioned walking over to the left room.

"Right is right" Cat giggled.

My room had purple carpet with white walls. The whole house seemed to have white walls without a single scratch or stain on them. It was like no one had lived here in years. That was probably due to the fact that my aunt was never home to actually live in the place. Ever since her daughters left, she kept herself extremely busy. Probably to keep her mind off of being alone all the time now. I bet she must've bet even a little bit glad to have people here again.

There was a desk in the corner with a computer on it, probably her daughter's old one. There was a closet and a dresser with a flat screen TV on the wall.

"This might not be so bad" I whispered to myself with a slick smile.

I set my baggage down and walked over to Cat's room. Her room had been set up exactly like mine, even the carpet was the same shade of purple. I guess my aunt really bought into the whole twin thing when designing these rooms for her daughters.

"Nice rooms, right?" I asked in the doorway.

"Totally" Cat answered still taking it all in.

**A few hours later...**

We had finished putting all of our stuff away and it was about six in the evening now. Cat and I were sitting down on the couch in the living room watching TV.

"Did Beck call like he said he would?" Cat asked me.

"Yeah, he says he misses me. That's one of the killer things about this whole move" I told her. "I won't get to see Beck every day and we have to work long distance. It sucks" I explained.

"Maybe you should break up" Cat commented.

"What?" I exclaimed viciously.

I could see the fear in Cat's eyes suddenly pop up and she scooted away from me on the couch. She told me that when I was angry I had the tendency to make this face of pure violence and devastation that scared the life out of her. Others had told me the same thing, but I didn't think much of it.

"I'm just saying...that until you can get back in L.A. You should take a break. Long distance relationships don't work out and it strains the relationship" Cat explained to me.

I sighed knowing that she was completely in the right with this. "Cat...you were actually right for once..." I said cautiously.

"About what?" she questioned.

"Never mind" I said dismissively. "But as much as I hate to say it and I do. It feels like biting down on nails. I have to break up with Beck" I said in a defeated voice.

"I'll be up in my room" Cat said quickly scurrying off up the stairs and closing her door loudly to let me know that she couldn't hear me. She understood that this would be a hard and emotional call and I hated showing emotions in front of people.

I let out a hard and long breath, then called Beck on my red Pear Phone. I heard the dial tone indicating that the call was going through and it made my heart race fast and nervous. When he finally answered I stopped breathing entirely.

"Hello?" he answered in his sweet and silky voice.

"Beck it's Jade" I told him in a soft voice since that was all I was able to muster.

"Hey babe, what's up?" he questioned with a tone that he reserved especially for me. It was sweet, kind, caring and compassionate. All of the things that I didn't seem to have within my system.

"We need to talk" I told him coldly.

"Okay...what about?" Beck asked confused.

I sat there in silence unable to come up with the words to break the heart of the man that I truly loved. He was so perfect for me. He brought out all of the good qualities in me. Would I just become this menacing monster without him?

"Beck...I hate to say this. It's killing me really, but we can't do this" I told him tears rolling down my face already.

"Wait what?" he questioned with a tinge of panic in his voice. "Did I hear you right?" he said still not believing the words I had just said.

I wanted so badly to just tell him it was all a joke and that I was playing some kind of sick joke, but I wasn't. This was real and it was ending between us.

"Long distance relationships don't work and I don't want to put us through that" I said between tears trying hard not to let him know that I was crying. But he knew me well enough to know that I was. So it was useless.

"Babe we can make it. I know we can, we are meant to be together" he exclaimed. I could hear the tears effecting his voice too. God, this was breaking my heart even more.

"Beck you have such a bright future ahead of you, but as of right now I'm not apart of it" I told him painfully.

"I don't understand. I thought you loved me!" Beck exclaimed.

"I do, but I can't stand being this far away from you and I know that it hurts you too" I exclaimed back at him.

He fell silent on the other side of the phone all the way back in L.A. I had been right, he was missing me deeply and in a lot of pain without being close to each other.

"This way we hurt a lot of a while and not a lot for years" I told him trying to bring forth some reason behind all this chaos. "It was my fault for getting shipped out here and you shouldn't have to suffer" I reassured him now clearly sobbing.

"I'm suffering without you" Beck said also in between tears.

"Beck, please" I told him trying to calm him down.

"Jade..." he trailed off unable to find the strength in his words.

"Beck, you know that I'm right" I said.

"I don't care! I want you!" Beck pleaded.

"Beck...if we are meant to be together then we will end up together no matter what. The universe will bring us together if it is true between us" I explained to him.

"But Jade-" Beck tried to counter my argument but I cut him off.

"No, Beck. It's not good for us to be together for now. So please just try to move and be happy, for me" I begged him.

"Alright, for you. Goodbye, Jade" he told me and hung up.

As soon as I was sure he couldn't hear me I sobbed loudly and painfully. My guy was wrenching from the impact of the fierce breaths that I was taking in between the loud expression of my sadness. That's when I felt two small arms wrap around me.

"It's okay, just let it out" Cat whispered to me.

I couldn't care less about my pride now so I just dove into her shoulder and cried my eyes out. I had never cried harder in my entire life. It felt like hours had gone by that I had done nothing but cry. How pathetic and weak. Jade West, the bad ass of Hollywood was crying over some guy. But Beck wasn't just some guy, he was my guy.

Eventually, one runs out of tears and energy to keep sobbing as loudly as I had been. Soon enough it was just Cat and I just hugging the pain away.

"You gonna be okay?" Cat asked with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Yeah, I just need some time" I explained. "I'm just gonna go to bed and sleep it off" I told her heading up the stairs, not caring if she approved or not. I trudged up the stairs feeling like my feet were blocks of concrete, heavy and dull. It took so much effort to get up the stairs this time.

I slammed the door behind me and plunged into my bed, immediately drifting off into sweet sleep. Sleep was where I could take a break from real life and just rest. I could forget about all that went wrong and just be a knocked out body.

I usually had really vivid dreams but not today. I had been too tired and emotionally stressed to dream of anything horrible or wonderful. I just wanted to sleep the pain away. I wanted to sleep to a time where I could be with Beck again. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

**The Next Morning...**

"Jade! Wake up Jade!" I heard a distant and familiar voice calling out to me. It sounded muffled and far way. Then there was shaking of my body that began to draw me out of my state of deep sleep. I finally recognized the voice to be Cat's voice. "We gotta get ready for school" she said in a soft voice.

"Damn, fine" I cursed wishing that I could just lay here in just wallow in my own sadness. Nothing would bring me more comfort than to just lie down on this comfortable bed and not feel the pain that was in my heart. It sure beat out having to be the new kid at a school full of teenagers.

(Btw: The time setting is to the most current episode of Glee which is as of now a Katy or A Gaga)


	2. Chapter 2: New School

**Chapter 2: New School**

**Cat's POV:**

I'd never seen Jade look so emotionally torn apart. Her eyes were still red and I could read into the pain within her eyes. She looked like a zombie. It was scary seeing this ghost of a Jade than the tough bad bitch that she always was. It felt like she had lost the will to go on.

After I woke her up, I headed back to my room hurting too much to continue looking at this torn version of the Jade I knew and loved as my best friend. I sat down on my bed and sighed feeling helpless as always. If anyone could help Jade get through this was Tori Vega. She was a good friend of ours who could give great pep talks and was good at comforting her friends. She was nice, smart and a good person all around. Of course she and Jade never really got along, Jade still took her advice to heart.

This got Cat to think about all her friends that she left behind. She missed Andre, Beck, Tori, Robbie, Sikowitz and maybe even the neighborhood weirdo Sinjin. I let out another sigh and felt a little down now. Now that it had actually hit me that I wouldn't see them for a very long time.

"Cat?" Jade called out from the doorway.

I gasped wiping a few tears from my cheeks and forced a smile up at Jade. I hadn't realized how long she had been watching me. "Yes Jade?" I asked her still trying to get myself together.

"I miss them too" Jade said walking away.

"Yeah..." I said.

Soon enough we were both ready to head downstairs all ready for school. Jade was wearing a black sweater with gray stripes all across it horizontally with black jeans with matching black boots that were ankle length.

I was wearing a light blue cardigan over a blue spaghetti strapped shirt that had laces on the center of it leading up to the chest. My bottoms were some blue jeans with matching flats. This was my typical Cat Valentine style.

I was finally able to meet the Aunt Nancy Jade had telling me about all the train ride yesterday. She had long light brown hair with beautiful hazel eyes with the same elegant pale skin Jade had. She was wearing her blue scrubs as she looked up from her book at us coming down the stairs.

"Good morning girls" she said in her smooth yet high pitched voice.

"Good morning Ms. Meyer" I replied politely.

"Hey Nancy" Jade responded.

"Wow Jade you have grown into a beautiful young woman since the last time I saw you" Nancy commented astonished. It must've been a while since they last saw each other. It was reasonable since she lived in Ohio and Jade had lived in California.

Jade just shrugged really not having any of it this morning. It was obvious that Jade was just a mess of emotions this morning. She just kept zoning out and desperately trying to keep her mind off of the painful stuff.

"And your friend Cat is quite the looker as well" Nancy said smiling at me.

"Why thank you" I said with a giggle. "You are very pretty too" I said admirably.

"Thank you for the lie" Nancy chuckled. "Anyways I was going to take you girls to school this morning but something came up at the hospital and I have to run. That's why I have my scrubs on" she explained to us.

"Yeah, what a surprise" Jade commented rudely.

"It's fine I'm sure we can manage" I told her.

"Yeah I know you can. I wrote down the address on this paper and I have your schedules right here too" Nancy said handing Jade the papers.

Jade just stood there clearly somewhere else mentally. She was staring out the window with a very serious and contemplative expression on her face.

I had to step in and take the papers from her. "Thank you" I thanked Nancy.

She nodded and said good-bye as she went into the garage and left in her car. I heard the sound of her vehicle fade away off into the distance.

"Come Jade, I'll drive" I told her grabbing her wrist and led her to the car.

**About thirty minutes later...**

Finding the school hadn't been that hard, it was truly only fifteen minutes from the house according to Pear Maps. But of course being me, I got us lost. Jade had yelled at me the entire way that we had been lost but it had been more than she said all morning. It felt like Jade was back even for a couple of minutes.

I found a parking spot directly in front of the entrance to the school and we made our way to the front office. That's when a blonde woman wearing red track suit came up to us. She was taller than average and she looked cruel. It was like she was searching for some way to mess with us.

She easily intimidated me and she could see it in my eyes that I was feeling timid. This drew a smirk of confidence across her face but she couldn't get anything out of Jade. That made her angry and she kinda grunted at us.

"What's wrong with the Killer Girl?" she asked me gesturing towards Jade.

"She's just getting used to being here in Lima. See we are from California" I explained to her lying. She had no business to know that Jade was going through some personal stuff.

"Oh you two are the girls from the performing arts high school in the big city of drugs and partying" she insulted the state of California. It was true, most people thought of it only to be a state of party and substance abuse.

"Well actually-" I tried to tell her but she interrupted me.

"Shut that trap red head, I know what I said. I also know that you two beat this one group of girls to a pulp so much that they needed a visit to the hospital and I won't tolerate that here. I am Principle Sue Sylvester so be aware that I'm always watching you" Sue warned us in a cold and fierce voice.

"Well it wasn't exactly like that-" I tried to explain once again but Sue wasn't having any of it.

"Red head, I read both of your files and saw the footage. You two are dangerous and I'm letting you know that I will personally take you down if you cause trouble again" she threatened.

"Well, those girls deserved it" Jade stated viciously. It was hard to hear her words they almost sounded like a growl coming from a wild beast. But I had heard this voice many times so I could easily decipher her words.

"Oh so she can talk" Sue said mockingly.

"Yeah and she has a lot to say" Jade sassed.

"Watch your mouth Miss Goth" Sue snapped at her.

"No, you watch Old Woman" Jade said a second after Sue had finished her sentence.

They both stared at each other with the eyes of vicious wild animals. They were having a staring contest to see who would back down first. But from the looks of it, they both could've stayed there forever.

"I like cheese" I stated trying to break the mood.

Both of the girls looked back at me with looks that they wanted to hit me with a bus or something along those lines.

"It's so delicious and smelly" I continued my talk of the dairy product.

"I'd say it was nice meeting you, but it really wasn't. So get on out to class" Sue ordered us walking away making a "I'm watching you" gesture with Jade and myself.

"What a lunatic" Jade commented rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, she's totally cray cray" I told her with a giggle.

"Never say 'cray cray' again!" she exclaimed angrily.

Yep, that was my best friend Jade West.

**Ten minutes later...**

We had been wondering the halls looking for our first class that we had together by some stroke of luck. Or maybe it had been that way for a reason. Maybe Sue wanted to be able to get to us at the same time. That lady definitely gave me the chills.

"Well this is English class" I told her as we stood in front of the door.

"Taught by some fudge bag named " Jade commented with a snarl at the end.

"I can't open the door! I'm too nervous!" I squealed uneasy.

"I got this" Jade said.

Jade had no shame about being rude or being bold. She flung the door open and grabbed my wrist leading me inside of the class room.

"How can I help you?" a short old man with a long beard told us. He had a chubby quality to him that made him look like a midget version of Santa Claus.

"Where are your elves?" Jade asked mockingly. That drew a laugh out of the whole class.

"Jade, behave" I exclaimed.

"Very funny, who are you two girls?" he asked with an annoyed expression on his face.

"We are your new students. I'm Cat Valentine and that's Jade West" I introduced us.

"Ah I see, well let's see Miss Valentine there is a seat available next to Marley over there on the left and Jade there is a seat behind Mr. Lynn over there on there on the right. Students that I have named please raise your hands to identify" told us.

I saw a slim girl with beautiful eyes and long brown hair raising her hand. She looked a kind girl, definitely a friend for me. I giggled and skipped over and sat down on the seat next to her.

I looked over as Jade took her seat behind this handsome guy who was very muscular and had a bowl shaped haircut but that didn't take away from his looks surprisingly enough.

Jade didn't bother talking to anyone, she wasn't having anything to do with any of these people.

"Hello there, my name is Marley" the girl on my left introduced herself with a friendly smile.

"My name is Catarian, but you can call me Cat" I told her with the same smile.

"I love your hair color" Marley complimented me.

"Thanks, yours is very pretty too" I returned.

"Yeah, but it doesn't stand out like yours does" Marley said with a chuckle. "Any reason you decided to dye it that color?" she asked.

"Well I love red velvet cupcakes and this is the exact color of a red velvet cupcake!" I squealed excitedly feeling through my hair. I loved it when people asked me that question. It always got me smiling and full of excitement.

"Wow...that's very deep" she said giving me a funny look.

"Yeah well, I try" I told her with a giggle.

The rest of the class period was spent with going on about someone named Sestina. I had no idea who she was but she sounded beautiful. He described her with these different poems some very lovely and other just plain tragic. I guess she had a lot of mood swings, but one thing bothered me the most. I really hoped he wasn't married because his wife wouldn't appreciate him talking so much about this Sestina chick. Apparently she's Italian too.

That's when the bell rang. I grabbed my backpack off my seat and slid it onto my arms. It was a fuchsia backpack with white polka dots on it.

"So what's your next class?" Marley asked me as she stood up as well.

"Um..." I said looking at the paper in my hand. "It looks like Science with " I told her.

"Hey, that's my next class too. I can take you there if you'd like" Marley offered sweetly.

"Sure, that'd be great. Let me just tell Jade I'll see her later" I told her with a nod.

"I'll wait for you outside" Marley said exiting out of the classroom.

Jade then walked over to me with a face of exhaustion and irritation. That was nothing new to me. She wore this face every single time I told her stories about my very strange brother.

"So how was class for you?" I asked.

"It was boring. I had already learned all this stuff back in L.A." Jade grunted.

"Well it was all new to me" I added.

"That's cause you have the attention span of a gold fish" Jade mocked.

"Am I as cute as they are?" I asked giggling.

"Ugh" Jade groaned frustrated.

"So I made a new friend. She's gonna walk me to science class now" I told her.

"Great, have fun" she told me sarcastically as she left the classroom.

"Well, that sure was nice of Jade" I said with a smile as I left the classroom too.

"You ready to go?" Marley asked.

"Yeah, take me to science" I told her.

The rest of the day had gone pretty well. I talked to a few kids but I didn't really know their names by the end of the day. The only person I remembered was Marley. She even gave me her phone number so we could stay friends. She was a cool person and I was satisfied. She and I had two classes together. I had two other classes with Jade: theater and math. I'm sure glad that I had Jade for math because math always confused me a lot. So she helped me understand it.

I met up with Jade at the front of the school like we had planned via text during the last class of the day which we didn't have together. We met in front of the school and were heading to our car.

"So how was your day? Did you make any new friends?" I asked.

"Nope" she answered quickly.

"Well...that's nice" I said trying maintain my optimism.

"Yeah, I guess" she answered back.

**A few hours later...**

By now we were home and relaxing on the couch. It was seven in the evening and we had both finished our homework. It wasn't hard since we helped each other out on it and had internet access. We had stopped to get lunch at this taco place on the way home so food was done and out of the way.

Jade was still in her distant and depressed mood. She still needed time to get on track with herself and get over Beck. But I knew that would take a few months by how emotional Jade was deep inside. She wasn't made of ice contrary to everyone's belief. She was a sensitive girl just like the rest.

That's when my phone buzzed and I picked it up to check it.

**Marley: Hey Cat**

Well that was nice. A simple and cool greeting. I had already planned on texting her later on just for fun. I planned on keeping her as a friend since she was so naturally friendly and a cool girl. So we kept up a text conversation.

**Me: Hey Marles! :) Like that nickname I came up for you?**

**Marley: Yeah, it's kinda cute I guess...lol**

**Me: Thanks, I am pretty cute. :D**

**Marley: Okay...anyways wanna hang out tonight?**

**Me: Sure, that sounds cool. Where?**

**Marley: Some friends and I were planning on going to this really cool karaoke club nearby. You interested?**

**Me: Sure, sounds like fun.**

**Marley: Alright! See you there! :)**

**Me: Wait! Can I bring my friend Jade?**

**Marley: The scary goth girl?**

**Me: Yeah, she's going through a tough time and she could use some fun.**

**Marley: Sure, that's cool. I'd love to get to know her.**

**Me: It's okay Jade seems mean but she really is. **

**Marley: ...okay...see you both there...I'll text you the address of the place**

**Me: Kay kay**

"Hey Jade! Guess what?" I asked her happily bouncing from excitement.

"Cat, you know that I hate guessing" Jade responded gritting her teeth.

"We are going out tonight!" I announced.

"What? Where? With who?" Jade demanded.

"Marley and some of her friends to a cool karaoke club" I told her a little softer.

"Cat I don't-" Jade was about to shoot my request down but this time I interrupted her.

"Jade I know that you're having a hard time right now but I want my best friend to have some fun with me. Please!" I exclaimed.

"Two things, Cat. One: I agree that I do need to go out. So I will but I won't enjoy it. Two: if you ever interrupt me again I will throw you out that second story window" she threatened me.

"Yes, ma'am" I agreed timidly.

"Let's go get ready" she told me sternly.

**An hour later...**

It took us about an hour to get ready and to drive over and find the place. I was wearing a blue tank top with some jean shorts with black heels. Jade was wearing a leather jacket over her short black dress with laced leggins and some black heels. To our surprise, the place was called Karoke-Dokie. It was exactly like the one we had back home but bigger. I guess it was a franchise, glad to hear it was successful.

We entered and looked around to find the place to packed. But I heard someone calling my name to the left. I looked over to see Marley waving over at us at one of the bigger table with some of her friends.

"Over there!" I told Jade excitedly leading the way.

The table was round and sat a lot of people to our surprise. We sat across from Marley on the two empty seats across from her.

"Hi Marley!" I greeted with a wave.

"Guys, this is Cat and Jade the two new students at our school" Marley introduced us.

"Hey I'm Jake Puckerman" the boy sitting next to Marley introduced himself. He was wearing a blue collared shirt with dark blue strips underneath his dark blue jean jacket. He wore jeans and some converse.

"Hey, I'm Ryder from your English class" the boy next to Jake introduced himself. He was wearing just a plain red T-shirt with some brick colored jeans.

"Hello I'm Wade but call me Unique" a dark skinned voice said to the right of Marley. He was clearly a male but dressed in women's clothing but I didn't care about stuff like that. I'd refer to her as a she if that's what he wanted. She had dark shoulder length hair with a purple dress that was to her knees with red pumps. Unique was very stylish.

"I'm Kitty, the school bitch" a short blonde girl introduced. She was wearing a green dress that was on shouldered and some black heels.

"Well it's nice to meet you all" I chimed happily waving to each and every one of them.

"Yeah, what she said" Jade stated with a half-smile.

"So you girls are from Cali?" Ryder asked interested.

"Yep, L.A to b exact" I answered.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Ryder said amazed.

"Are the people all beautiful there like they say?" Unique asked.

"Not all of them, but their tans are all spot on" I answered.

"So why did you girls get kicked out?" Kitty asked with a smirk.

"Kitty!" Marley scolded.

"I like her, right to the punch" Jade stated with a dangerous smile.

"Well? What's the answer?" Kitty challenged.

"Try none of your damn business" Jade answered losing the smile.

"Alright let's calm down here" Jake said.

"Yeah, pull the claws back in" Ryder agreed.

"Lima is pretty nice" I quickly said trying to pull attention away from the impending fight.

"What?" everyone at the table questioned looking back at me now.

"I mean it sounds like lima beans. How is that not cool?" I said. "They're so, y'know, bean-like" I explained with a fake chuckle.

"Alright you guys! Next up to sing is Marley Rose and Jake Puckerman" the announcer said at his stand behind the stage. Just like at the one back home.

Marley and Jake got up and headed up to the stage full of bright lights and everyone was watching. But they didn't look an inch nervous, like they were used to performing in front of people. They began singing "A Thousand Years" both staring at each others' eyes. They looked like they were truly in love.

"They're a couple right?" I asked the table.

Yep, the cutest one at school" Unique answered gleefully.

Both of their voices blended so well together with that song. I could hear their love being through the song, so strong and deep. Poor Jade, this probably was bringing her back to memories of Beck.

"Jade how about we sing next?" I asked her.

"Ugh" she groaned.

"Please?" I begged. "Come on, it'll be fun" I told her.

"Fine, but I'm picking the song" Jade stated.

"What song?" I asked.

"Give It Up is always perfect for us" Jade smiled.

"Alrighty then" I agreed.

I scurried off up to the MC's booth and told him our song and who was singing up next. He politely nodded and got everything set up.

I sat back down to wait for it to be our turn next. Marley and Jake sang beautifully earning them a good amount of claps from the crowd there. They took in their applause and kissed each other on the lips lightly before coming to take their seats.

"Great job as always" Unique praised.

"Yeah, that was a sweet job you two" Ryder added.

"Very cute" Kitty said sarcastically.

"Kinda overdone" Jade commented.

"Jade!" I scolded.

"What?" Jake questioned.

"I mean a ballad love song is everywhere. It's nothing new is what I'm saying" Jade continued.

"Don't mind her, it beautiful!" I exclaimed happily.

"Next up to sing is two newcomers to the scene here in Lima! Cat Valentine and Jade West!" the MC shouted excitedly to amp up the crowd.

"Wait, you guys sing?" Ryder asked.

"You're about to find out" Jade said as she pulled me onto the stage.

It was both of our first time singing in a while but we were still pretty great. We did the same routine as we did back in L.A when we performed at their Karoke-Dokie. We finished the song and that drove the entire club wild. I looked around and saw everyone applauding and cheering. Our table were doing the same as the rest, clearly we impressed them.

When we got back to the table we were greeted with smiles and praise all around.

"Damn, you girls brought it" Kitty said.

"Truly spectacular" Unique added.

"Well done" Ryder commented.

"That was fantastic" Jake stated.

"You guys rocked!" Marley exclaimed.

"Thanks, you guys" I thanked them.

"We didn't go to Hollywood Arts without being amazing so yeah" Jade said arrogantly.

"Makes it even more strange that they let go of a pair as spectacular as you two" Kitty stated.

"Stop it, Kitty" Unique said elbowing her.

"We are big girls, we can take it" Jade told Kitty.

"I'm actually very small" I said. "I can't" I said timidly.

"Well I can take anything you dish out" Jade challenged.

"You better" Kitty explained.

The rest of the night was actually a lot of fun, it turns out all of the people at our table could sing very well. Once everyone was done singing we headed home and said goodbye to everyone. Somehow we ended up exchanging numbers with each others, making it official that we now had friends.

Back at home we ended up talking about the nice night out we had with our new friends in Jade's room. We were sitting across from each other just having the regular girl talk.

"So did you have fun?" I asked Jade hoping she did.

"As much as I hate to admit it, yes" she said with a scowl.

"Glad to hear that" I smiled.

"Well at least classes won't be so lonely now" Jade said.

"Well it's getting late, so I'm going to head to bed" I told her walking out of her room.

"Hey Cat" she called out to me as I was in the doorway.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Thanks for convincing me to go out. I really needed it" she told me not meeting my gaze.

"What are best friends for" I replied.

I made it to my room and lied down on my bed. I had fun tonight and apparently that had tired me out because I fell asleep quickly.


	3. Chapter 3: Fire

**Chapter 3: Fire**

**Jade's POV:**

I woke up feeling better than yesterday. The break up between Beck and I was still tearing me apart emotionally but today felt like a new day. The feeling that new things were coming, good things. Ever since the events back in L.A. I hadn't felt so fresh and hopeful in a long time.

"Better not screw me up today universe" I said out loud to myself. I sat up in my soft bed and looked at the alarm clock that was on my nightstand at it read five in the morning. School started at seven so this was a pretty good time to start getting ready.

I got up and changed into a black cardigan and a green tank top underneath of it. I wore a pair of light blue jeans as my bottoms with some gray boots. It wasn't my usual deep and dark look, but maybe I need a break from it. I felt better and I wanted to express that somehow. I was always a person about expressing myself, which gave me that creative edge over the rest of the kids. One of the factors that got me accepted into Hollywood Arts.

That's when I heard steps coming down the hall towards my room coming from the direction of Cat's room. Of course it was no surprise seeing the small red-headed girl standing in my doorway with her usual perkiness.

"Well you look great" Cat told me with a sincere smile.

"Thanks you look good too" I praised her.

Cat was wearing a light pink cardigan over a pink toned floral dress designed with these old art-looking roses. They appeared like they'd be something you see in a portrait in the living room of an old woman's apartment. Cat was definitely different than any other girl I had ever met. She dressed so girly yet classy in a way. She was so small and pretty.

"We've got over an hour until school starts. What do you wanna do?" Cat asked me.

"Let's go find a coffee joint to get some of the good stuff before school" I answered with a smile. I loved coffee more than most of my family. I always told people that I wanted to marry a man like coffee. No one but Cat ever understood what I meant about that. I guess that's why we were such great friends, we understood each other. Yet it's funny how opposite we are. She's small and bright while I'm tall and dark. She is nice and polite, while I'm bold and rude. What a pair.

** An hour later...**

We drove around town for a while until we finally found this cute little coffee shop. We sat down at one of their tables and just talked about random things. It was one of those nice friendly moments that you'd see in one of those crappy and corny movies about how friendship can get you through anything or some cliche like that.

Eventually we had to leave and head to school. We found some of the friends we met last night having breakfast at the cafeteria. Everyone but Kitty was there this morning. That girl was fierce and mean, but she couldn't compare to me. I was on another level of evil than her sorry ass. I didn't hate her, no I respected her. She recognized the kind of person I was and she challenged me immediately. Not many people have ever done that. So it would probably be one of those rival friendship type things.

"Good morning people of Ohio" Cat called out as she took a seat next to the group of new friends we had made.

I took a seat across from hers on the red cafeteria table. "What's up?" I greeted in a cool and calm voice.

"Hey there" Ryder greeted.

"Hiya" Marley greeted along.

"Hello" Jake greeted.

"Hello darlings" Unique greeted.

"I'm guessing this is going to become the regular morning thing" I commented.

"Sure, why not?" Marley said.

"Alrighty then" Cat chimed happily.

"So how's you girls' morning been?" Jake asked.

"Well I woke up feeling funny because of a dream I had. It was quite a strange one" Cat answered with a face that expressed how she was looking back on the dream.

"What was your dream-" Marley was asking before I interrupted her.

"No!" I shouted loudly gaining the eyes of the rest of the students in the cafeteria.

"Well hi my name's Cat and I love the color pink" Cat exclaimed to the students staring at us.

"Go back to stuffing your faces with food!" I shouted back at them.

A mix of nods, shrugs, and talk began up as they went back to whatever they were doing.

"It's funny when Jade gets loud" Cat giggled childishly.

"Why did you flip out?" Jake asked confused.

"Trust me, you don't want to hear about Cat's strange dreams" I told him sternly.

"Okay then, let's talk about something else" Ryder stated.

"Let's talk about New Directions" Marley suggested.

"Oh yeah I saw a flier about that taped on one of the walls this morning" Jade commented.

"Isn't that the band of handsome British boys that tweens are obsessing over?" Cat asked.

"No Cat, that's One Direction" Unique corrected her.

"Sorry for Cat, she's a bit stupid" I said.

"Hee hee" Cat giggled.

"New Directions is the glee club of this high school" Jake explained.

"Yeah and we're all apart of it"Ryder continued gesturing to everyone but Cat and I.

"After the way you divas stopped the show yesterday with your phenomenal voices we were hoping that you would want to join" Unique told us.

"What? Us?" Cat questioned.

"According to the flier, aren't you guys like weeks away from Nationals?" I asked.

"Yeah, we don't know anything about glee competitions. We'd probably just mess you guys up" Cat said with a frown.

"With the voices you two angels possess there's nothing you could screw up musically" Unique praised us.

"Yeah and besides I'm sure Hollywood Arts kept you very well up on dancing and obviously singing as well" Ryder added.

"Well we did have to dance our ways out of foreign prison" Cat said with a proud smile.

"What? You were in prison?" Marley questioned.

"Don't listen to her, she's crazy" I quickly said covering up.

"Yeah, I'm crazy" Cat said recognizing her mistake.

"Okay, well what do you guys think?" Ryder asked excitedly.

"I'd love to!" Cat exclaimed with a smile.

"I guess if Cat's in then I'm in too" I said with a sigh.

That earned a couple of woohoo's and yay's from the table.

"We'll arrange for you to audition this afternoon in the choir room to our teacher " Marley explained.

"You girls can sing that song from last night since it's a natural duet" Ryder suggested.

"Sounds like a plan" I stated.

"I'm sure it'll be tons of fun" Cat said smiling.

That's when the bell run indicating that it was time for the students to head to class.

"Well see ya in English, I have to go get my stuff from my locker" Ryder said waving.

"Until then" Unique said walking off with her diva walk.

"Alright bye, babe" Jake said kissing Marley lightly as he headed off towards his class.

"Since we have the same class I thought we could walk together there" Marley suggested.

"Sure" Cat replied.

Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad. This Glee Club could be just what I need in order to keep my vocals and dancing up to date. I didn't want to lose practice while being stuck here in Ohio. Now I could maybe even get better.

**After school...**

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. After I finally met people I found out that I had classes with other people of our little group. I had one class with Jake and another with Unique. Jake and I talked but not too much. I made a good friend in Unique since she had attitude. But hers was more of the "I'm a diva so stand down peasants" while mine was "I hate you all, go die". We spent the class period laughing and making fun of people in our class.

My last class had been with Unique so after we met up with Cat she walked us towards the choir room where we would audition for the club.

"Hello, " Unique greeted the teacher standing up in front of the room by a white board. She took a seat down where a few rows of chairs were across from him.

"And who are these students?" asked.

"The little one on the right is Cat and on the right is Jade. They're new students from California" Ryder explained from his seat next to Unique.

I scanned the room and saw other kids I didn't know, but I quickly noted Kitty sitting behind Ryder. She gave me a little wave and I winked back at her fiercely.

Marley and Jake were sitting next to each other on the other side of Ryder holding hands like the cute couple they claimed to be. It brought back a little tinge of pain seeing them like Beck and I were. But I quickly shoved that thought out of my head and focused back on the teacher.

He was wearing green and black flannel shirt with a gray vest over it and a pair of nice blue jeans. He was a good looking man, muscular and manly. But he seemed to be nice and cool. I think he'd be the Sikowitz of this place except not insane.

"Well my name is and I am the director of the New Directions which is the Glee Club of McKinennely" he explained. "Are you girls here to audition?" asked.

"No, we're here to plant potatoes" I said sarcastically with an eye roll.

"Don't mind Jade, she has issues" Cat told him. "We are here to hopefully join your friendly Glee Club" Cat went on.

"Well go ahead girls, the floor is yours" said as he took a seat to watch us.

Cat and I had been texting all day and we had decided not to sing Give It Up in order to further surprise and impress the rest of the group. Back in L.A we'd been rehearsing this cover of Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack" but an acoustic version of it. That's what we had planning to do all day.

Cat whispered to the pianist behind us and he nodded to her request. He began playing an elegant and more heartfelt version of the song that Cat and I sung brilliantly to. During the performance I saw every eye in the room staring at us in awe and amazement. This clearly had been a success.

Once we were done the whole room was filled with applause and people standing up.

"Well it's clear that you girls are musically gifted. I usually wouldn't make any new auditions right before such a big competition but you girls could really help us be better. So you're in" told us with a brimming smile on his face.

That caused the rest of the members to cheer. Then once everyone calmed down they sat back down in their seats.

"Alright time for introductions. Who do you already know?" asked.

"Jake, Kitty, Marley, Unique and Ryder" Cat answered.

"Alright well that's Artie" he said pointing to the boy in the wheel chair with glasses.

"Blaine is sitting next to him" he continued gesturing to the young man with gelled back hair and a bow tie. He was cute.

"Next is Sam" stated pointing to a very pale young man with long blonde hair and cherry red lips. He was very muscular and handsome.

"Then there's Tina" he gestured to an Asian girl with long black hair with streaks of blonde in it at the tips.

"Yeah and I'm the lead vocalist of this group so don't go getting any ideas" Tina interjected.

"Cool it Tina" warned.

"Ah so you're the arrogant control freak of the group, I'll make a note of that" Jade replied with a smirk.

"Jade, play nice" told her.

"I like your shoes" Cat told Tina with a smile.

Tina just shrugged her off and didn't reply.

Cat gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Anyways, that is Sugar" said as he pointed to girl with short brown hair who looked bored and clueless.

"That is Joe" said gesturing to the boy with long dread locks and beautiful eyes so silver.

"Nice to meet you all" Cat exclaimed happily

"Except for Tina, you're a jerk" I interjected.

"You'd know about jerks, wouldn't you Jade?" Kitty questioned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I exclaimed.

"Hey, that's my line!" Cat exclaimed.

"Not now Cat!" I shouted.

"Okay" Cat said hushing down her volume.

"Alright girls let's calm down here" said looking at Kitty and I.

"Fine" she said rolling her eyes and looking away.

"Yeah" was all I said as I took a seat on the far right where Kitty was on the far left.

"Yay Glee Club!" Cat exclaimed as she took the seat next to me.

"Now that we have two new members there's no way we can lose at nationals" said beginning some speech talking about how the lesson this week would be about singing ballads like how Cat and I sang "Heart Attack" acoustically.

That's when I pulled out my phone and started texting Cat.

**Me: Hey Cat, so what do you think of this bunch? **

**Cat: I love them! They're all so cute! **

**Me: Even Tina and Kitty?**

**Cat: Tina has pretty shoes.**

**Me: CAT!**

**Cat: Sorry**

**Me: They're the ones we have to watch out for here. **

**Cat: Really? You think so?**

**Me: You saw how they treated us without even knowing us**

**Cat: Tina looks like she's nice.**

**Me: Maybe she just a spotlight hog.**

**Cat: Are hogs like pigs?**

**Me: CAT STAY ON TOPIC!**

**Cat: I'm sorry! :( I'm curious.**

**Me: Alright we are done. **

**Cat: Love you too! :D**

"Alright you guys are dismissed for today. I hope to see the rest of you prepared to sing some songs tomorrow" said as he began to grab his stuff.

"So what're you guys going to do after this?" Unique came up to us.

"Probably go home and eat some cheese" Cat answered with a blank face probably focused on her craving of dairy.

"Why?" I asked rolling my eyes at Cat.

"Because I was hoping you girls would be my back up dancers for the song I want to sing this week and I'd like to rehearse with you guys today" Unique explained.

"Sounds like fun!" Cat answered.

"Sorry, but I'm busy this afternoon unlike the dairy addict next to me" Jade explained.

"I don't have a problem!" Cat shouted.

"What do you have to do today?" Unique asked.

"I have to go pick run some errands for my aunt" I told her.

"Well maybe next week?" she questioned.

"Totally" I answered.

"So Cat how about instead you and I do a duet?" Unique asked excited.

"Yes, I'm so in!" Cat exclaimed hugging her.

"Well I have to head to the store and get some stuff for my aunt so call me when it's time to pick you Cat. Okay?" I told her.

"Kay kay. I'll be here with this fabulous diva" she exclaimed happily.

"Alright, later" I said leaving the room.

**Cat's POV:**

"So do you have any song suggestions?" Unique asked me.

"Well...what about Not Like The Movies" I suggested.

"By Katy Perry?" Unique asked.

"Yeah! It's a ballad and amazing so it fits the bill!" I told her.

"Let's do it" Unique agreed.

The rest of practice went well and were able to split the song to where we could each get a solo and beautiful harmonies by the blending of our voices. Unique and I had gotten to a new level of friendship with this collaboration. Eventually once we finished it all we ended up just talking about our lives and random things. The last thing I remember us discussing was dreams and aspirations. Unique hoped to a famous pop star one day. That's one of my dreams too so we shared that. But it came to an abrupt end when Jade had texted me.

**Jade: Are you ready to go yet? It's kinda late.**

**Me: Oh snap! I didn't realize how late it was. I'm ready. **

**Jade: Alright I'm close by be there in a few. **

**Me: Kay kay**

"That's Jade, it's time to go home" I said giggling. "I didn't realize that it was almost six already" I exclaimed shocked.

"I guess the time just got away from us" Unique said smiling.

"Yeah, time flies when you're having fun" I told her.

"This was definitely fun" Unique said as we began to walk out of the choir room where we had ended up practicing.

"Yeah, I'm glad we're friends" I told her truthfully.

"Likewise, my little red haired songbird" Unique replied.

"You've got a gorgeous set of vocals too" I told her.

"Yeah, but I'm not pretty like you..." Unique trailed off her mood obviously changing from excitement to sadness.

"Unique, you are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met" I said bringing our walk to a halt in the center of the hallway.

"Do you really mean that?" Unique questioned.

"I believe it with all my heart" I said making full eye contact with her.

"Thanks, Cat" Unique thanked me with a hug.

"No problem" I said hugging her back.

We pulled away and she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Oh no, did I do something?" I questioned panicking.

"No no, these are tears of joy" Unique said laughing.

"They should be of sadness and despair" an unfamiliar voice interjected into the conversation.

Unique and I both looked at each other surprised and turned to see someone I had know idea who she was. She was a short and thin tan girl in a cheer leading outfit.

"I thought I felt a chill from your cold heart" Unique insulted the girl.

"Unique, that's not cool" I immediately told her.

"Clearly, you don't have any idea who I am to be talking like that" the girl warned me told me taking slow steps toward me.

"Cat, that's Bree the school's evil witch who is out to ruin the life of other students" Uniqe explained glaring at Bree.

"Yeah, my good looks and popularity give me all the power to do whatever I please" she said with a laugh.

"Oh" I said timidly.

"Yeah, you should be afraid" Bree told me sternly.

"What do you want?" Unique asked abruptly.

"To talk to the new girl...alone" Bree emphasized the last word

"I'm not leaving Cat alone with a conniving cold heart-ed monster like you Bree!" Unique argued.

"Leave or else I will make you regret it" Bree threatened in a sudden change of voice.

"Unique, it's fine. I can handle her, she doesn't scare me" I told her honestly. Jade West was my best friend. I wasn't afraid of some high school mean girl. Jade shaved my head once for accidentally waxing off her eye brows. She forced me to eat bush peas for tweeting something wrong. What could this girl possibly do?

"Are you sure?" Unique questioned looking back at me.

"Totally. I live with Jade, she can't scare me" I told her with a chuckle.

"That's right" Unique said slowly turning around the corner and leaving.

"So you truly are the Cat Valentine that is all the buzz at school, huh?" Bree asked.

"Yeah, that's me" I told her in my usual perky tone.

"Well you are quite the beauty. All the guys are talking about how good you look" Bree told me.

"Wow, that's so nice of them" I said smiling.

"I could use you on my team, Cat" Bree said slowly and softly.

"Sorry, I'm not a lesbian" I apologized.

"No! Not like that you idiot!" Bree exclaimed in an outburst.

I gasped and clapped my hands over my mouth. "That wasn't very nice" I told her glumly.

"Whatever! Let's get to the point. If you quit the Glee Club and join the cheer squad then you could be right hand lady" Bree explained.

"How do you know that I'm right handed?" I questioned.

"Not what I meant!" Bree exclaimed again. She then let out a deep breath. "With your looks and sweet girl personality, you could easily rise to the top of the high school food chain. You could get whatever you want whenever you want" Bree explained to me with a devillish smile.

"Wow, that's nice of you to offer. But I can't quit Glee Club. Music is my passion and all of my friends are in there. I couldn't turn my back on all of them" I argued.

"Wow, you really are little Sally Sunshine! Always doing the right thing and being such a cliché!" Bree shouted in anger.

"I'm leaving now" I stated trying to get passed her but she got in my way again.

"Cat...you don't know who you are dealing with. Refusing this offer will make you my enemy. I'm someone you really don't want to piss off. So please reconsider my offer for your own sake" Bree warned me.

"My answer won't change, Bree" I told her sternly.

"Fine, then. This is war now" Bree threatened.

"Oh please!" a very familiar voice scoffed from behind Bree.

I knew this voice well and it was like music to my ears to hear it here and now. "Jade!" I exclaimed looking passed Bree to see her standing there with her arms crossed.

"Ah, so you've come to save your sidekick" Bree stated turning around to face Jade.

"I'm here to stop you from harassing my best friend" Jade corrected.

"I'm trying to help her be popular but she's too much of an idiot to realize that" Bree insulted me.

"Look, , I'm going to make this easy for you to understand. You don't threaten my best friend like that. You back off and walk away before you have to deal with me. I am crazy. You don't want to mess with a crazy girl" Jade warned her in her hushed and cold voice. It was like hearing a fallen angel speak. It was scary and horrifying at the same time.

"Oh I'm so scared" Bree stated. She pretended to sound sarcastic but by her body movement and her eyes you could easily see that Jade had struck some fear in her.

"You better be" Jade said. "Let's go Cat" she said gesturing for me to follow.

"Bye Bree" I taunted following Jade as we left her standing there with an expression of anger.

"Jade, how did you know where I was?" I asked.

"Unique texted me" Jade said showing me her phone screen.

**Unique: Jade!**

**Jade: What?**

**Unique: Cat's in trouble! D:**

**Jade: What? Where? **

**Unique: The hall by the choir room. The school bitch has got her. **

**Jade: Don't worry, she can't handle me**

**Unique: Hurry, that girl is vicious. **

**Jade: She won't be after Jade West is done with her. **

"Thank goodness for Unique" I sighed with relief.

"Yeah, but something tells me we haven't seen the last of that Bree bitch" Jade said.

"Should we be worried?" I questioned worried.

"Nah, there's nothing Cat Valentine and Jade West can't handle" she reassured me.

"Just don't do anything crazy, Jade" I advised her.

"Yeah, I won't" she groaned.

"Promise?" I questioned.

"I promise not to" Jade said. "Unless it's absolutely necessary" she whispered so low that I couldn't understand what she said.

**Next day after school at Glee Club...**

**Jade's POV:**

The school had been normal today, just a day full of crap classes. I was actually looking forward to Glee practice this after noon. I loved music and being able to express myself with music was just great. It was a high better than heroin or any other drug.

Cat and I were sitting in the back next to each other as usual. That's when got up after Blaine and Artie had performed there ballad. It was a cool blues song but I hadn't paid attention to the title or the artist. Blaine was a really good singer and dancer. Artie was gifted vocally as well, but he obviously couldn't dance.

"Alright, guys. After some serious thought and contemplation I've made a decision. In order to prepare for Nationals I want to have a choir concert here at the school" he explained.

That made everyone except me clap and cheer with excitement. I guess they were ready to perform and show the school what they had.

"There will be three solos and two group numbers" explained. "I've already decided who I am giving these solos to" announced. "Blaine, Marley and Cat will be performing solos at the concert Friday night of next week" he finished his announcement.

"Wait what?" Tina exclaimed unhappily standing up from her chair.

" !" Kitty exclaimed from the back standing up as well.

"What's the problem here?" questioned.

"How are you giving that red haired ding bat a solo? She hasn't even been here a week!" Tina exclaimed angrily. "Some of us older members deserve the spotlight!" she continued her outburst.

"Yeah, that's totally not fair" Kitty added.

"You two need to calm down!" scolded them.

"No, this is crap!" Kitty argued. "We deserve that solo more than she does" Kitty continued.

"I am the director and I make the calls" told them sternly.

" , I don't want the solo if it's going to cause all this mess" Cat told him frowning.

"Cat, I want you to do this solo. I can bet you that some of our competition will be there to scout out how we are progressing. If we show them Cat then she can definitely shake them up a bit" explained.

"What? So we can't scare them? Our voices are tired and boring?" Tina questioned.

"That's not what I'm saying. Cat and Jade joined out of the blue. The other team don't know that we have acquired them. It will come as a total shock to them" he further explained his plan.

"That sounds like a good plan" Marley commented.

"But why aren't you going to show off Jade?" Jake asked.

"Because we don't want to show all of your cards at once" answered.

"That makes sense" Ryder added.

"That's crap!" Tina argued again. "So now they're our star players at Nationals too!" she shouted furious now.

I looked back at Cat and she felt horrible for causing such madness in the club. I could see the tears forming in her eyes and that pissed the hell off. That was the final straw that made crack at this outburst.

"That's it" I whispered to myself. "Tina! Shut up and sit down!" I yelled at her viciously.

"Or what?" she argued.

"While you still have legs to sit down" I threatened her.

"Tina, don't be afraid of that witch" Kitty exclaimed.

"You want a piece of me, street cat" I growled.

"Bring it" Kitty answered.

I pulled my bag off of my shoulder and tackled her to the floor. She screamed in shock and I began to go off on her. She tried to get me off of her but I wouldn't budge. I was able to get a few good hits in before I was pulled off of her by a pair of strong arms. But it wasn't enough I was still kicking and screaming insults at her. Another pair of arms had to come to pull me fully off of her.

"Jade! Stop!" Cat cried out.

That's when I stopped fighting and began to let myself breathe again.

"You all need to stop!" yelled pissed off. "You two are so obsessed with the spotlight and getting your way that you are bashing the confidence of your fellow member. She has a voice in here too that deserves to be heard. Now Cat is singing the solo and that's the last I want to hear off it" he finished his outrage.

Kitty got up and sat back down at her seat. Jake and Ryder, who had pulled me off of her, led me to my own seat next to Cat.

"You promised you wouldn't do anything crazy" Cat told me disappointed.

"That's not crazy for my standards" I replied still catching my breath.

"Now, those of you who got solos tonight your assignment is to come up with your songs and tell them to me tomorrow at practice. I'll have the group numbers ready by then and we'll start rehearsal for them" explained dismissing us.

"Come on, let's go" I said grabbing Cat's arm and pulling her along.

"Jade, if you ever act like that again I'll have to suspend you" warned.

"Yeah, I understand" I answered still dragging Cat along.

Once we were in the parking lot, Cat yanked her arm out of my grasp and gave me a serious look.

"What?" I questioned loudly.

"You weren't supposed to act crazy" she reminded me.

"Cat, I'm sorry that I let my anger get to me but I had to defend you" I explained.

"But not violently, Jade" Cat told me. "We can't get kicked out again" she added.

That really hit me in the gut. I took a deep breath and crossed my arms. "Yeah, you're right" I conceded after a long moment of silence.

"Really?" Cat questioned not expecting me to agree with er so easily.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I need to be better about this and I won't let it happen again" I told her seriously.

"Thanks, Jade" she thanked me.

"For what?" I asked confused.

"Defending me, just don't use your fists this time" Cat explained with chuckle.

"What about kicking?" I asked jokingly.

"Jade" she protested.

"I'm joking" I told her as we walked off towards the car.

"Guess the rest of the week will be getting ready for the big night" Cat told me excitedly.

"Yeah, the big night" I said with an eye roll.

(Greetings, to any of you that read this story and plan to keep up with it. If you like it than I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me or if you have something you think I should improve on, don't be shy to let me know. I don't have a set plan on how long it will be chapter-wise but all I know so far is that it will be more than 10 chapters. I hope you enjoyed the this new chapter. :D )


	4. Chapter 4: Comfortable

**Chapter 4: Comfortable **

**Cat's POV: **

Tensions have been rising lately here around the school. Every time I see Kitty or Tina in the hallways, I try to be nice and say but it's useless. They don't like me because of my impending solo performance. I keep trying to convince out of this solo, but he won't budge. I really don't care if I'm in the spotlight, I mean it would be fun but it's not worth causing this tension.

Jade keeps telling me to just ignore them and focus on blowing the audience away at the convert but that's just Jade. She likes to piss people off even more and doing a spectacular job at the convert would obviously only further fan their flames of dislike for me.

Unique says that I should own it. That a real diva and performer will always have people going against them because they're jealous. That seems logical enough. I mean their problem truly does derive from jealousy.

Marley says that it'll blow over once Nationals comes around. She says that everyone will be so excited and focused that they won't have time to hate on me. She also says that winning Nationals would be a great way to build friendships as well. So does that mean that they'll like me if we win Nationals? If so, then I've got my work cut out for me.

These were my thoughts contemplating me Friday morning getting ready for school. I was brushing my hair and realized how long it had gotten. It was now down the center of my back but I felt that was a good length so I wouldn't cut it just yet.

Then someone else I had to worry about was Bree, the cheer leader who wanted me to join her popularity clique. She wanted me to quit Glee Club and join the cheer squad. But I wouldn't do that. Not only would I refuse to turn my back on my friends but music is so much more important to me than popularity.

Jade and I had pissed her off, so she would definitely be waiting for an opportunity to get back at us. Jade says that she is a tricky and we have to keep our wits about us. But I don't really know what a wit is and where I could buy one. I told that to Jade and she just rolled her eyes at me. She should really get eyes checked out. She seems to do that a lot when I talk.

That's when my phone started ringing and I was happy to see Tori Vega's contact photo appear on my phone.

"Tori!" I exclaimed happily after hitting the answer button.

"Good morning, Cat" she replied.

"How are you? It's been forever since we last talked" I continued excitedly.

"Yeah, it has. I miss you" Tori told me.

"Yeah, I miss you too. Be sure to send my greetings to Andre, Robbie and Beck" I told her.

"Sure, will. So how's your new school? Give me some deets" Tori told me excitedly.

"Well I've made a bunch of new friends. Everyone there is cool except for a few people, but that's just small issues. I also joined a Glee Club with Jade" I told her.

"Wow, that's great. How is that going?" Tori asked surprised.

"Amazing! I've been able to keep up with music so I won't fall behind vocally. The greatest part is I will be able to visit you guys soon!" I shouted excitedly jumping up and down.

"Wait, what?" Tori questioned shocked.

"Yeah, the National competition for show choir's is in L.A this year!" I answered gleefully.

"Wow! That's great! I can't wait to see you and Jade soon! When is it?" she asked.

"In like four weeks. I'll give you a specific date as the time approaches. You guys can come watch us!" I suggested excited.

"Yeah, totally. We can hang out too" Tori agreed.

That's when I heard shouting in the background on Tori's end of the line which worried me a little bit.

"Are you okay over there?" I asked.

"Yeah, Trina is just yelling at me to hang up so we can head to school" Tori explained.

"Alright, well I have to get going soon. Text me later, okay?" I told her.

"Of course, bye Cat" she bid me farewell.

"Bye Tori" I returned the farewell.

"Trina! I'm coming stop shouting before I call the cops!" I heard Tori shouting as she hung up.

That made me laugh a bit to remember Tori's insane sister Trina. She was so desperate to get famous that she tackled the famous blogger, Perez Hilton. Tori was so embarrassed. But I miss her craziness as well.

"Hey Cat, you ready?" Jade called out from her room.

"Yeah, I'm on coming" I answered. Today I had decided to go with a different look. I was wearing a dark pink cardigan with a dark blue tank top with a crimson skirt and blue heels.

I met up with Jade at the stairs and we walked down together as I told her about my quick call with Tori. Tori and Jade always had this sort of frenemie kind of deal. Jade always was against her but I don't think she actually hated her.

Jade was wearing a sea foam green shirt with a black and grey striped jacket over it and a black skirt with black lace leggins and her famous black boots. She was looking like her usual dark clothed self which made me happy. I was surprised to see her doing so well considered her relationship with Beck had ended on Monday. It had only been a few days and I was glad to see her returning back to normal.

**At school first period...**

This week our teacher, , had given us a group assignment over the play Romeo and Juliet. Our task was to either argue or agree with the tragic love story that was Romeo and Juliet. Either we thought they were stupid for killing themselves over someone they only knew so shortly or were they madly in love and couldn't bare to spend any moment apart from each other which is why they did what they did.

Our group was Marley. Ryder. Jade and myself. Jade had made a strong argument that they were clearly out of their mind choosing to kill themselves based only knowing themselves for such a short amount of time. She said Romeo was not in love with Juliet but rather in love with being in love. I didn't understand all of it but she convinced Marley and Ryder to agree with her.

We had finished the paper over it last night over Skype and so now we were ready to turn it in at the end of the period like the teacher had assigned it. So now we were free to spend the rest of the period just visiting with one another.

We sat in a square with our desks all together. Jade sat on my right and Ryder sat on my left. Marley sat across from with Jade on her left and Ryder on her right.

"So Cat how's your rendition of 'Stay' by Rihanna coming along?" Marley asked.

"It's coming very well along" I answered proudly.

"You must love ballads" Ryder commented.

"Yes, I do. I love how they can express beautiful emotions up to the point of bringing tears to the eyes of the audiences" I explained to him.

Ryder just stared at me and smiled when he heard my answer. It was like I had just spilled out pure poetry to him and he was in awe.

"Yeah, she's been practicing at home a lot and she is spectacular" Jade commented.

"What about you Marley? How is 'Still Into You' by Paramore working for you?" I asked changing the subject of attention.

"It's going great. I really think it is going to be one of my best performances!" Marley exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Glad to hear that. I can't wait to hear it then" Jade complimented for once. I think Jade was starting to warm up to Marley. At first she was indifferent about her because she reminded her of Tori being nice and honest. But now she saw her as her own person.

"Wow, thanks Jade" Marley responded reluctant. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it" she continued.

"Do you guys know what Blaine is going to be singing?" I asked curious.

"Yeah, he's going to sing 'When I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars" Ryder answered.

"Oh I just know it's going to be magical" Marley commented.

"Yeah, his voice leaves me stunned" I added.

"I don't really like his bow ties though" Jade said.

"What? I think they're super duper cute" I argued.

"If you're a stock broker, sure" Jade replied.

"I've tried to tell him that he shouldn't wear them so often, but he doesn't listen" Ryder said with a laugh.

"To each his own, I guess" Marley said.

"To each his own what?" I questioned.

"Oh Cat" Ryder chuckled.

"You're such a ditz" Jade said insultingly.

"Why thank you" I thanked her. I didn't really know what a ditz was but it sounded cute and appealing so I rolled with it as a compliment.

"So do you guys wanna hang out this weekend?" Ryder asked.

"Sure" I answered.

"I'm down" Jade agreed.

"Yeah, what did you have in mind?" Marley asked.

"Well, what about bowling?" Ryder suggested.

"Oh no, I had a very bad experience bowling with my brother when I was little. I can't feel comfortable at a bowling alley ever again" I said with a shudder.

"Okay..." Marley said. "What about we just hang out at someone's house?" Marley suggested.

"Yeah, that way we can do anything" Ryder agreed.

"What about our house, Jade?" I asked.

"Yeah, my aunt is never home so it'd be fine as long as we don't leave a mess" Jade confirmed.

"So Saturday?" Ryder questioned.

"It's set" I agreed.

"So who else should we invite?" Jade asked.

"Can I bring Jake?" Marley asked.

"Yeah, he's cool" Jade answered.

"Blaine? Artie? Sam? Unique?" Ryder suggested.

"Yes! Unique must be there" Jade commented excited.

"And the rest can come to" I confirmed.

"But not that wench Kitty or her sidekick the drama queen Tina" Jade stated.

"Yeah, I kinda assumed that was the case" Marley said.

"Yeah, but not inviting them will definitely get around in Glee Club" Ryder warned.

"Good, they should know that I do not care for them" Jade stated.

"Don't forget Sugar and Joe" I added.

"Yeah, them too" Jade agreed.

"So basically everyone in Glee except for Kitty and Tina" Ryder said.

"Exactly" Jade answered with a wicked smile.

"Oh boy" I sighed.

**Later at glee club rehearsal...**

"Alright guys, that was a great job rehearsing the group numbers" commented. "You guys are dismissed and have a good weekend" he told us.

"Girls, we have to go shopping this afternoon. I need to buy a new outfit for our gathering Saturday" Unique demanded.

"Chill girl" I told her giggling.

"Yeah, we're down" Jade answered.

"Marley you wanna come?" I asked her.

"Sure, that'd be fun" Marley answered.

**A couple of hours later at the mall...**

** Jade's POV:**

We had been shopping the entire time and had finally taken a break sitting on the edge of the fountain with our drinks that we had bought at a nearby smoothie shop. We had each found a new outfit to wear to the party, I guess you could call it, this Saturday at our place. Cat and Marley had each gotten an outfit for their solo at the concert next week.

"So girls what's all the buzz?" Unique said beginning the conversation.

"What? I hate bees!" Cat exclaimed covering her face as she stood up.

"Cat! She doesn't mean actual bees" Marley reassured her.

"She means like gossip" I clarified rolling my eyes.

"Oh..." Cat said embarrassed and took her seat again.

"Wait, you guys never told me what happened with Bree" Unique said.

"They encountered Bree?" Marley gasped.

"Yeah, but it wasn't anything that Jade and I couldn't handle" Cat said sipping her drink.

"But she seems pretty bent on revenge" I told them. "She's going to try and do something I can feel it...I just don't know what" I said gazing off into the distance.

"Well we have got your back" Marley stated.

"Yeah, she can't take us all on" Unique said.

"Besides, she's afraid of Jade" Cat added.

"Really?" Marley said surprised.

"Bree's never shown any sign of fear" Unique explained.

"Cause she's never had to deal with someone like me" I told them smiling my famous wicked smile. "If she tries anything I'll put her in her place" I continued.

"Jade" Cat warned.

"But I won't do anything crazy" I groaned.

"Yay!" Cat cheered sipping her smoothie.

"So what did Bree want?" Marley asked.

"She wanted me to join her group of populars" Cat explained.

"Well that's not so bad" Unique commented.

"Yeah, but she wanted me to quit glee club because apparently it's not cool" Cat told.

"Well we aren't exactly at the top" Marley said sadly.

"But I couldn't turn my back on you guys, you are my friends" Cat defended.

"Yeah so since Cat refused her she has a grudge over her" I added.

"It makes sense" Unique commented.

"Wait? What?" Cat questioned confused.

"Bree approached you because she feels threatened by you guys" Unique explained.

"That does make sense" Marley agreed.

"I still don't get it" I argued.

"You two are all the talk at school and Bree can't stand that" Unique clarified.

"So in order to get back on top she wanted one of you on her side" Marley continued.

"Oh, so that skank loves being the center of attention at school" I said rolling my eyes.

"Typical" Cat commented annoyed.

"Well she doesn't mess around" Marley warned.

"Actually she messes around a lot, probably with all the popular guys" Unique corrected. "But she is someone who will do whatever it takes to take someone down" she finished her explanation.

"I'm not worried" I told them.

"I am!" Cat exclaimed. "If she's that bent on revenge then she'll hurt you guys too"she said frowning. " I don't you guys getting hurt" she stated timidly.

"Cat, you're more worried about us?" Unique questioned.

"Yeah" Cat confirmed.

"That's Cat, she's the least selfish person you will ever meet" I explained.

"Don't worry about us" Marley reassured Cat with a hug.

"If we stick together then we'll survive" Unique agreed.

"Aw you guys!" Cat squealed.

"Barf!" I exclaimed disgusted.

That made the other three girls laugh in unison.

"Well I'll be right back. I have to go get a refill" Cat told us as she headed off back to the smoothie shop just across the way.

"Do you think she's noticed?" Unique questioned.

"I don't think so" Marley answered. "Cat isn't very observant" she told her.

"Noticed what?" I asked.

"You know...Ryder" Marley said in a hushed tone.

"What about him?" I asked again.

That earned me a shocked look from Unique. "Have you not noticed that he has been smitten with her?" Unique exclaimed.

"What? Ryder likes Cat?" I questioned a little surprised.

"Totally!" Marley agreed. "He asked me yesterday if she had a boyfriend back home or something" she explained.

"I've caught him staring at her with an intense look and a warm smile all the time at glee practice" Unique added.

That's when I actually started to look back and the moment where he smiled at Cat today in English without any words seemed to make sense. "Now that I think about it...yeah" I answered.

"So do you know anything Jade?" Marley asked.

"Cat hasn't mentioned anything about Ryder" I replied.

"Does she usually tell you about boys?" Unique asked.

"Yeah, totally" I answered quickly.

"Could you ask her, because Ryder wants to ask her out but he's nervous?" Marley asked.

"Ask Cat if she likes Ryder?" I questioned.

"Yeah" Marley answered.

"I'll do it when we get home" I told.

"Great, let us know what she says" Unique stated.

"Totally" I agreed.

That's when Cat returned sipping her new smoothie with a smile and then she looked at us with a confused look. We were all staring at her with smiles on our faces, like we knew something she didn't know. Which was true.

"She has no clue" I whispered low enough so only Marley could hear.

Marley nodded and laughed.

"Yep, banana mango was the right choice" Cat commented with a smile.

**That evening back at home...**

**Cat's POV:**

Jade and I had gotten back from the mall a while ago and now we were just watching TV. We were watching some show about celebrities scuba diving or something like that. It was weird because some of them weren't moving that much in the water. But that's when the TV just suddenly flickered off.

"Wait what happened?" I questioned confused.

"I turned off the TV" Jade answered.

"Why?" I asked scared. "Am I in trouble?" I questioned in fear.

"Did you remember to put my scissors back after you used them?" Jade asked

"Yes, ma'am. I'll never make that mistake again" I answered shuddering at those memories.

"Then no, you're good" Jade confirmed.

"Good" I sighed in relief.

"But I want to ask you something" Jade told me. "What do you think about the guys in glee?" she asked me.

"Oh they're great!" I chimed happily. "Blaine has been showing me some different vocal trips and some new uses for gel. Sam is hilarious with all of his impressions, he did this one of that was hilarious" I told her giggling.

"What about the rest?" she continued her questioning.

"Artie has been helping me with my science homework because I don't get some of that stuff. Joe keeps on telling me these stories from this book made out of bibble or something like that. I really want to see that book" I answered smiling then my smile turned dark with thoughts of bibble.

"Cat! No bibble!" Jade exclaimed.

"Not even a little?" I asked desperately.

"No!" she denied.

"But-" I began to protest but Jade cut me off.

"If I find out that you've been eating bibble I will shave your head again!" Jade threatened me her eyes flaring with anger.

"Okay" I sighed.

"Now what Jake and Ryder?" she said getting us back on topic.

"Jake is cool. He tells me that my jokes are hilarious but I never seem to remember saying any jokes but whatever you know. Ryder is really sweet. He tells me that he likes my red hair" I explained.

"So Ryder? You like him?" she asked me.

"Yeah, he's cool" I shrugged.

"Cat, do you like him more than a friend?" she asked me seriously.

"Well...now that I think about it...when I see him my day brightens up a bit and my heart begins racing" I answered smiling and blushing.

"That's a yes" Jade laughed.

"Yeah it is I guess" I replied giggling.

"Well according to some sources of information Ryder likes you back" Jade told me.

"Wait! Really?" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah" Jade told me.

"Yay!" I exclaimed jumping up and down. "That's so exciting!" I shouted happily.

"Maybe you should try and have some alone time at the party tomorrow night and see where things go" Jade suggested.

"I can't wait!" I exclaimed.

After I calmed down Jade and I spent the rest of the night just talking about preparations we have to make for tomorrow night. Then it was time to go to bed.

As I lie in my bed, I realized that my feelings for Ryder were stronger than I knew. I couldn't sleep for the longest time because I wanted him here with me. But of course he couldn't fly so that wasn't possible. But eventually I did end up falling asleep.

**The next day in the evening...**

"Cat! Are you almost ready?" Jade asked from her room.

"Yeah!" I answered back just finishing brushing my hair to the perfect amount. I was wearing a red dress with a red rose in my hair and red heels. I felt like I looked amazing and I was glad.

"Well don't you look spicy" Jade commented from the doorway. Jade was wearing her new outfit too, a dark blue dress that was to her knees as was mine. She had dyed her streaks dark blue to match with her dress.

"Why thank you" I thanked her with a giggle.

"We'd better head downstairs because everyone will start getting here soon" Jade told me as we made our way down the hallway.

"I'm getting nervous, Jade" I told her.

"Why?" she asked me as we were going to the flight of stairs that led to the living room.

"Because Ryder is coming" I answered.

"Cat you look stunning, he won't be able to resist you" Jade reassured me.

"Thanks" I said as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

That's when the doorbell rang and I rushed off to go answer it. When I opened the door three people had arrived. It was Marley, Jake and Unique.

"Well you guys all look great" I complimented them with a smile.

"You look so red" Jake commented.

"Yeah, like a fiery version of your usual self" Unique said with a wink.

"Let's get inside, guys" Marley said.

I led them over to the couches where they took a seat and greeted Jade.

"So...this is where the party will take place?" Jake questioned looking disappointed.

"Of course, not. The backyard is set up with a dance floor and a big stereo for some serious dancing" Jade answered.

"Wow! Really?" he said completely changing his tone of voice.

"The door's right over there" Jade explained gesturing to the door leading to the garage. "You just have to go through the garage and the first door on your left takes you outside" she finished her explanation.

"Cat, you go with them and I'll greet the guests and send them along" Jade told me.

I did and led them to the party destination. They all were astonished at how amazing it looked. Jade and I had hung up all different colored Christmas lights to give it this gorgeous neon look. The dance floor was this large square in the center of all the luscious grass. The stereo was up to the north side of the dance floor and on the left were tables lined with pizza and sodas.

"You girls know how to throw a party" Jake said excitedly.

"Go pick some music and get ready to dance" I told them laughing.

That's when one-by-one everyone started arriving and the party took it's own was out on the floor dancing and having a blast. But to my surprise one person didn't show up. He'd been the person I'd been looking forward to seeing all night.

I put on a smile and danced around with everyone to distract myself. I did have fun but I missed Ryder. Had Jade been wrong? Did he not like me? Was he not even my friend now?

I used food as an excuse to get alone and sort my thoughts. That's when Jade came over because she probably noticed that I was bummed out.

"He's not here" I frowned.

"Yeah, I know" she agreed.

"But why?" I asked her confused.

"I don't know. I asked Marley and she talked to him today and he said he was coming" Jade explained to me.

"Did anyone try calling him?" I asked.

"Marley did before the party but he didn't answer" Jade answered.

"I'm going to call him and make sure he's okay" I told her heading inside the house.

"I'm coming with you" Jade told me following me inside.

It was like whole different world in here than outside. It was so quiet and lonley in here while in the backyard it was crazy and full of life. I grabbed my phone off of the counter and called Ryder. I heard the dial tone and was pleading for him to pick up in my mind.

That's when the dial tone broke indicating that he had answered. "Hey Ryder are you okay?" I asked him but didn't get his response like I had been expecting. It wasn't even his voice that I heard. It was someone's voice that made me go cold inside.

"Sorry Cat, but Ryder's a little busy spending time with me and not you" Kitty taunted me and then hung up the phone.

I slowly put my phone on the counter again and turned to face Jade trying to keep my emotions inside because I felt like I was going to lose it then and there.

"What happened?" Jade asked with a concerned expression.

"He didn't answer" I told her. "Kitty did" I said tears rolling down my face.

"Cat, I'm sorry" Jade said heading to hug me.

"I thought you said he liked me!" I shouted backing away.

"I honestly thought he did!" Jade exclaimed.

"All day I had been waiting to see him and now...I can't even face him. I feel so stupid and embarrassed" I told her through my tears.

"Kitty did something, I know it" Jade told me.

"No, this is Ryder clearly sending me a message that he doesn't like me" I said feeling this pressure building on my chest. I felt like I was going to be explode right then and there.

That's when Jade hugged me and I just let myself cry and hard. I felt like an arrow had been shot into my chest. I was burning and sobbing with pain. The arrow had been lit on fire before striking my chest.

That's when I heard the door open and some footsteps came in through the door.

"What's going on?" I heard Marley's voice asking me.

"We were looking for you guys and we couldn't find you" Jake told us.

"Cat called Ryder to make sure he was okay because she was worried..." Jade tried to explain and trailed off.

"Did he answer?" Marley asked worried.

"Kitty did" Jade said coldly.

"Oh Cat, I'm so sorry" Marley said joining in the hug.

That's when Jade let go and I heard her moving towards Jake.

"Why would your friend do this to Cat?" Jade exclaimed angrily.

"Ryder is a good guy, he wouldn't do something this jerk-like" Jake defended.

"Jade it's not his fault" I told her through my sobs.

"Yeah, Jake had nothing to do with this" Marley explained.

"I know...I'm just pissed off that this happened to you" Jade told me.

"Guys, I'm just going to go to bed" I told them breaking the hug.

"Are you sure?" Marley asked.

"Yeah, I just need to rest and put this behind me for now" I told them heading up the stairs.

"Do you want us to end the party?" Jake asked me.

"No, I want you guys to have fun. Just tell them that I wasn't feeling well and had to go lie down" I told them heading into my room and closing my door.

Now I was alone in my room and curled up with my blankets. I didn't even bother to change out of my dress. I didn't care at this point. I just wanted to be asleep and unable to feel any of this. So I ended up falling asleep quick and it was all behind me for that moment.

**Jade's POV:**

After Cat had gone upstairs to go sleep off such a horrible night, I took Jake and Marley outside to go enjoy the rest of the party. Of course, I couldn't fully enjoy myself to the full extent knowing what had just taken place to my best friend.

Soon enough the part was over at about one in the morning and everyone headed home. I ended up in the living room with Jake, Marley and Unique. We were all sitting there talking about much fun we had but we were all bummed because of what Ryder did.

"I still can't believe it" Unique commented. "I thought Jake was the bad boy who messed with girls' emotions" she said.

"Hey! That was the old me!" Jake argued. "But yeah, Ryder didn't seem like this kind of guy" he conceded.

"Well Monday morning we are going to talk to him and find out what's up" Marley told everyone with a serious facial expression.

"Someone get him to come early in the morning to the choir room and we will settle it there" I told them all. "Jake, you're the closest to him so come up with something to get him there, got it?" I ordered him.

"Don't worry, I'm all over this" Jake agreed.

"Marley and Unique you two will be there to make sure I don't kill him" I told them both entirely serious.

"Alright" they both agreed in unison.

"Do you think Cat will be alright?" Unique asked concerned.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. I'll spend all of tomorrow putting her back together" I reassured them. "Some ice cream and a couple of good movies will help her feel better enough to go back to school Monday" I told them.

"Alright, well if everything's good here, I've got take these two home" Jake said standing up.

"Goodnight" Unique said following.

"See ya, soon" Marley said following them out the door.

I heard the sound of their engine starting soon after and they were gone.

I got up to lock the door and headed up to my room. I closed the door behind me and then I began to cry. All this week I had holding in all of my emotions about Beck and hiding them away. They were eating me from the inside out and I had to let them out.

This was the perfect time since Cat was asleep and no one was around to hear me. I violently sobbed and cupped my hands over my face in usual teenage fashion. Eventually I cried myself to sleep like I did the night of the break-up.

This time when I woke up Sunday morning, I actually felt better not the fake kind of better. I guess what I needed was to let it all out for once instead of sealing it all out.

I focused all of my efforts that day towards helping Cat feel better. We did all the things that helped a girl feel better after a painful boy situation. We ate ice cream, listened to sad music, cried together, and watched classic movies. By the end of the day, I think we were both feeling so much better.

Now I had to be prepared to face Ryder tomorrow morning and get to the bottom of why he would do such an awful thing to the sweet Cat. Of course this could be trouble if I didn't come in with my temper completely under control.

I promised Cat that I wouldn't do anything crazy, but would that promise be kept? I wasn't so sure of it because when it came to protecting the people that I cared about it was never that easy to keep my calm. It would be an intense battle between my inner demon and myself.


	5. Chapter 5: Collisions

**Chapter 5: Collisions**

**Cat's POV:**

Jade had dragged me to school about an hour earlier than we usually got here. She told me that it was just one of those things that I didn't want to know about. Considering how scary Jade and what I found out last time I questioned her secrecy, I just let her do her own thing. I was just sitting in the car listening to some music. That's when I got to thinking about Ryder.

I was still pretty upset about him being with Kitty last night but I wasn't crying anymore. Jade had spent yesterday crying with me, but she told me to never speak of it again. So I'm pretty sure just thinking about it will be okay.

But then I got to thinking that I had no claim to Ryder. He wasn't my boyfriend so he didn't cheat on me. He has every right to be with whoever he wants. I just thought that he liked me and I liked him. I expected to connect with him at the party and maybe get us started as a couple. I guess that I just got my hopes up. That was my luck with boys.

I had my boyfriend Daniel back in L.A but he cheated on me with Tori. Then I had feelings for Robbie but it always bothered me how he kept hitting on Tori and all girls at Hollywood Arts but Jade. Because you know Jade threw him down a flight of stairs for asking her out when she had broken up with Beck for a few months. It seems like all the boys always someone else instead of me. That's probably why I was upset with Ryder. I got my hopes up that he was different.

That's when I saw Ryder walking into the school. That made my heart stop entirely and I stopped breathing for awhile. I was planning to avoid him all day but that wouldn't be possible. I had a class with him and glee club with him. I wouldn't be able to keep away from him like I wanted to. I had to talk to him eventually.

"Breathe Cat" I had to tell myself to start breathing again.

I was glad that he hadn't seen me because I would've had to just run away screaming "No!" like I would when Robbie tried to ask me to the dance back Hollywood Arts. I wasn't ready to confront Ryder about my feelings just yet.

First, I just had to think through what I would say first of all. Otherwise, I'd end up changing the topic to some story about my brother and how he ate something that wasn't food. The next step would be to keep my calm and composure. I was really bad at that. Lastly, I would have to tell him that I'd be okay with his decision. That would be the hardest part.

I hope Jade comes back soon. It's getting kind of lonely in this car. I'd go out and try to find her but there were two problems with that.

One I could run into Ryder inside the school. That would be awkwardly painful for me so I'd have to run away.

Second, I could end up traumatized if I actually found Jade and she was doing something extremely horrifying like always.

I shuddered and made my decision to stay inside the car. I put the volume up on the music and began singing along to it.

**Inside the choir room...**

** Jade's POV:**

"Is on his way here?" I asked Jake.

"Yeah, he just texted me that he is entering the school now" Jake replied.

"Okay, so you guys know what to do, right?" I questioned them giving them all serious looks.

"Roger that" Marley agreed.

"Mhm" Unique added.

"Great" I said turning into a whisper as I heard steps coming our way. "Get ready" I warned in a hushed tone.

**Ryder's POV:**

I was entering the school feeling confused this morning. Jake had texted me late last night that he needed to meet me in the choir room an hour before school started to ask for some advice. It must be pretty serious to have wanted to talk so early in the day. I headed down the hallway and made my into the room.

"Hey" Jake greeted me awkwardly.

"Hey" I replied feeling the same awkwardness. It was weird being here in the choir room with it being absolute silence. Usually there was someone singing or someone talking to someone else. It was kind of eerie.

"So what's up? Why did you ask me to come here early?" I questioned. That's when I heard a noise come from behind me. It sounded like the doors on both entrances to the choir room closing and locking.

I looked to the right door furthest away from me to see Unique at the door. She had been the one to lock the door, but for what?

That's when I looked behind me to see Jade there locking the door just behind me with that wicked smile of hers that sent chills running down my spine, like a ghost had just walked by me.

"Good morning Ryder" Marley said seriously as she sat down in a chair beside Jake.

"What's going on?" I asked looking at all of them. Jade and Unique took seats behind Marley and Jake.

"We need to talk to you" Jade stated coldly. I could see in her eyes that she was holding back, like she was fighting back the urge to beat me to a pulp.

"This kinda sounds like an intervention" I told them with an uncomfortable chuckle.

"No, we just need to talk" Jake told me.

"Where were you last night?" Marley asked me.

"Oh, so that's what this is about" I said with a sigh of relief. "I couldn't make it to the party because something came up" I explained to them.

"Oh something came up" Jade said with a laugh that matched that of a mental patient. It gave me a shiver deep in my soul. "What came up? Your hand up Kitty's skirt?" she asked sarcastically.

"Wait, how did you know that I was with Kitty?" I questioned surprised.

"We tried calling you and texting you last night. Trying to find out why you didn't come" Jake explained.

"You texted me that afternoon that you were still coming" Marley said in an accusing tone.

"Then sweet little Cat, worried about you, decides to call you up" Unique continued.

"She was so excited to see you and looking forward to meet up with you" Jade says angrily. "But to her disappoint, that skank Kitty answers saying that you chose her over Cat!" she shouts in an outburst of anger. Jade then takes a deep breath to recover her composure and sits back down.

"I had no idea..." I told them.

"What?" Jade questioned not believing me.

"I was going to attend the party...but then Tina called me. She told me that Cat had feelings for someone else and that I'd be embarrassing myself by showing up to the party" I explained.

"Tina" Jade growled like a demon.

"And you believed her?" Unique argued.

"She said that she overheard Marley and you talking about this guy" I added.

"So then how did you end up with Kitty?" Jake questioned.

"She called me about an hour later saying that she wanted to hang out and I said sure" I answered.

"Did anything happen between you two?" Jake asked.

"It's Kitty...she tried to go all the way with me but we ended up just having a hot and heavy make out session" I confessed.

"Those two fudge bags!" Jade shouted kicking a chair off to the side.

"I feel like scum" I told them.

"Ryder, Kitty and Tina manipulated you" Marley explained.

"They were using you to hurt Cat" Unique pointed out.

"It's mostly not your fault" Jake assured me.

"The only crime you committed was being stupid" Jade muttered.

"Yeah, but I've got to talk to Cat" I said standing up.

"And I have peoples' heads to shave" Jade stated standing up as well.

"No, Jade" Marley told me.

"Why not?" Jade questioned angrily. "They deserve to be punished!" Jade shouted.

"Because you can't get in trouble again or you'll get suspended" Unique reminded me.

"Damnit!" I cursed. "I promised Cat that I wouldn't do anything crazy too" Jade exclaimed clenching her fists.

"The best way we can get them back is to help Cat and Ryder" Marley told me.

"That's right!" Jade exclaimed smiling now. "If they see Cat and Ryder on good terms that will kill them!" she laughed that insane laugh of hers.

"Jade, where's Cat?" I asked her.

"She's in the car waiting outside" Jade answered.

"And she wasn't curious to come inside?" Jake asked.

"No" Jade answered.

"You didn't have to give her an excuse as to why you came so early?" Unique asked.

"Let's just say Cat learned not to question my decisions long ago" Jade explained.

"Wow, that's some serious trust right there" Marley commented.

"Well I'm gonna go find Cat, so could you unlock the doors?" I requested.

"They're not locked, we just pretended to lock them" Jade explained.

"Alright, see you guys later" I said rushing out of the door.

**Jade's POV:**

"So you think he will get through to Cat?" Jake asked curious.

"If he can catch her" I commented.

"What do you mean by that?" Marley asked.

"Cat has this habit of running away from awkward situations like a child and she runs far and fast" I explained.

"Well it's a good thing he's on the football team" Jake commented.

"So now what?" Unique asked.

"Do any of you drive?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've got my truck out back. Why?" Jake questioned.

"Wanna go get some coffee?" I asked the group.

"Sure" Jake answered.

"So we're just going to leave Cat here?" Marley asked concerned.

"I've got the car keys, she isn't going anywhere" I answered.

"What if she needs us?" Marley asked again.

"We won't be gone long" I answered getting annoyed. "Besides, Ryder will catch her eventually and he will watch out for her" I commented.

"Seems logical" Unique added.

"Then let's go get some of that good stuff" I told them as we all got up to leave.

**Cat's POV: **

I was really starting to get into the song that was currently playing on the radio when my phone buzzed indicating that I had received a text message.

**Jade: Hey Cat, went with Marley, Unique and Jake to go get some coffee. Want some?**

"Oooh coffee!" I exclaimed excitedly and I began typing my response.

**Me: Sure, I'd love some! :D **

That's when I smiled at the thought of coffee but smile soon vanished when I saw a familiar voice exit the school doors. Ryder stood out there and began scanning the parking lot as if looking for something or someone.

I couldn't help but look at his warm brown eyes and his friendly face. He was so attractive and it didn't hurt that his body was great in shape. It made me sigh in sadness that he had chosen Kitty over me. She was a lucky girl.

That's when his gaze met mine and I panicked. He smiled at me but my heart starting racing. It was one of those moments were you didn't have to wonder if someone was looking at you or something near you. I felt that he was intentionally looking at me. Then he started approaching the car.

I scrambled to find the car keys then realized Jade had taken them with her. So that's when I made the decision to either confront Ryder or just run away in my usual fashion. Running seemed like the best option since I hadn't gathered my thoughts together. I thought that I would at least have until glee rehearsal to talk to him. I had nothing so I slowly got out of the car and ran away from his as fast as I could.

"Cat! Wait!" I heard Ryder call after me. That's when I heard his footsteps speed up to a run after me.

"No!" I shouted terrified at the thought of confronting him now. I just run until I finally reached a school door and made my way inside.

To my fortune Ryder had fumbled with the door a bit and I was able to get a bigger lead. But that wouldn't help much since he was a football player. He could easily gain that distance back.

I had to think fast of an escape route that would be easy to take and get me away from his fast. That's when I recognized something about this hallway. This was my route to my history class and on the turn up ahead was a janitor's closet. I was hoping that it would be open for me to slip inside and lose him.

So I abruptly made a turn and tried the door. It flung open and I quickly hid inside the closet. I heard Ryder run passed me then squeak to a stop in his athletic shoes. I heard him pace back and forth then he went up the stairs that was nearby. I guess he assumed the only path to get away fast was up the stairs. I gave a sigh of relief that he had bypassed the closet.

I slowly and carefully made my way out of the closet and fast walked down the hallway far away from here. I successfully made it to the football fields which were completely on the other side of the school where Ryder had been chasing me.

Of course Ryder being a football player had knowledge that this would be a great space to go for and would be here soon enough to look for me. I found a spot under the bleachers that would hide my small body perfectly from view. So I planted my butt there and caught my breath.

I had been right because not ten minutes later Ryder was out on the field looking for any trace of my being here or passing by here. That's when he groaned defeated and took a seat on the bleachers.

I nervously backed up a little and cupped my mouth to keep my breathing silent. I was right underneath him and I got a little closer by instinct. I could see him breathing hard and was frustrated by the look on his face.

"I really messed up" Ryder grunted between breaths. "I messed up my chance with such a great girl" he continued. "Why did I have to be stupid enough to fall for Kitty and Tina's tricks?" he said face palming his forehead hard.

So it was Kitty and Tina who caused this. I didn't realize they would go this far just to hurt me. Did their jealousy really get them so far and deep into this? Were they willing to hurt their friend Ryder just to get to me? This was horrible.

"Am I really a great girl?" I asked him softly from underneath him.

That caught him off guard and he looked around trying to find the face that had produced the voice. He couldn't seem to figure out that I was beneath him.

"Down here" I told him.

That's when he knelt down and looked at my face between the bleachers. I saw him smile that warm smile that I liked so much. He had the boy-next-door quality to his face. You just wanted to be in his arms for a long time and let him enjoy you.

"Cat, you're amazing" Ryder told me.

"Then why were you with Kitty?" I asked feeling hurt.

"Because they told me that you didn't like me and were avoiding me" Ryder explained.

"So...you do like me?" I asked nervously looking away from him.

"Cat, my feelings for you are strong" he reassured me. "I've never fallen for a girl this quick before...it's kind of scary" he confessed to me.

"I feel the same" I told him meeting his gaze once again.

"From the first moment I saw you I felt a tiny spark but then one I saw you singing with Jade that spark turned into a flare" he confessed. "Now it's just a steady fire that's drawn to you" he finished.

"I really like you too" I told him giggling.

"I'm glad to hear that" he laughed. "Now why don't you come up here so we can be closer?" he asked me.

"Sure" I answered nervously. My legs were wobbling and I was shaking as I made my way out from the under the bleachers and took a seat next to Ryder.

"You don't have to be nervous" Ryder assured me seeing how much I was shaking and stumbling.

"I'm scared" I confessed.

"Why?" Ryder questioned confused.

"Every boy who has ever liked me has always chosen someone else over me" I explained to him tears welling up in my eyes.

"Well that's their loss" Ryder comforted me wiping the tears from my face. "They're missing out on someone truly special and like no one else" he told me smiling at me.

"That smile of yours drives me crazy" I told him putting my hand on his right cheek.

That's when he cupped my face in between his two hands and drew me in closer for a kiss. When our lips met it was like a thunderbolt had struck me. This feeling of electricity engulfed my entire being and I was stunned. After he pulled away I stood there frozen and couldn't muster the strength to recover from such an amazing display of affection.

"Are you okay?" Ryder said chuckling.

"Yeah...that was just...the best kiss in the history of all kisses" I said attempting to catch my breath again.

"Cat Valentine, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he asked me still holding my face.

"Y-yes" I answered stumbling on my words. This time I pulled him in for the kiss and that caught him by surprise. This kiss was longer and deeper, we could truly feel the attraction that we felt for one another.

This time he broke the kiss and had the stunned expression on his face. "That truly was the best kiss in the history of kisses" he told me surprised.

"Woah daddy" was all I was able to say.

"You can't imagine how happy I am right now" he told me as he held me in his strong arms.

"I feel like I'm about to explode" I told him giggling.

That's when I heard someone clearing their throat and I quickly rushed over to see my friends standing there with fun smiles on their faces.

"Well that escalated quickly" Jade teased.

"You two are great together" Marley said with an honest smile.

"Sorry, Jake and Marley but you've been replaced as the cutest couple" Unique said in awe.

"I think we'll live" Jake laughed.

Ryder and I stepped down from the bleachers hand in hand. I smiled embarrassed as everyone's eyes were focused on us.

"He's my boyfriend!" I exclaimed excitedly. That earned a laugh from the entire group.

"Class is going to start soon so we'd better get back inside" Marley told me.

"Walk me to class, handsome?" I asked him.

"I just might stay with you in class, if that's okay" Ryder told me.

"Well you do have that class too, so I'd hope so" I told him smiling.

**Later that day in glee rehearsal...**

"So Jade is sure that Tina and Kitty are both in there?" Ryder asked me trying to peek inside of the choir room as we stood outside.

"Yes, she just texted me that they both have taken seats in the front row" I answered.

"Well they've got front row seats let's give them a show" he told me holding out his hand.

"Let's" I agreed taking his hand and we both walked in.

We didn't have try at all to get anyone's attention because they all just watched us take seats in the back row hand-in-hand with the gooey mushy couples smile.

"I knew it!" Sam exclaimed.

"Dang it!" Artie sighed defeated.

"Looks like you owe me some money, Artie" Sam rubbed it in his face.

"Money for what?" Ryder asked curious.

"I bet Sam that you would end up dating Jade" Artie answered with a sigh.

"And my money was on you and Cat getting together" Sam added.

"So are you two really a couple?" Blaine asked with a friendly smile.

"Yep" I answered resting my head on Ryder's firm shoulder.

"Well I think you two make a great couple" Blaine complimented sincerely.

"Thanks, Blaine" Ryder thanked.

I looked back at Tina and Kitty to catch some very angry glares. I swear if they had laser beam vision then we would've been burning in an inferno of their hatred. That's when I gave them a wink and that earned a gasp from Tina and then a scoff.

"Sucks to lose doesn't it?" Jade called out to the two scornful girls. Jade was sitting behind Marley and Jake who were in the center front row. Jade and I usually sat next to each other but she understood that it was Ryder's turn to get close to me.

"I don't' know what you're talking about" Tina responded flipping her hair back arrogantly.

"Face it, you tried to screw with Ryder and Cat, but in all actuality you brought them closer together" Jade taunted them.

"Whatever" Tina replied dejectedly.

"You've only won a battle, not the war" Kitty commented not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Shut your face" Jade told her.

That ended the entire argument and that's when walked in and took his usual spot in front of the students.

"Alright guys, let's get to rehearsal" he told us excitedly.

**Friday evening...**

**Jade's POV:**

The night we had all been waiting for all week had finally come upon us. The night of the big concert in front of an audience. Tonight would be a great night full of music and friends, to be honest I had been looking forward to it all week.

Ryder and Cat's relationship had taken off beautifully. It was like two long lost souls that had finally found each other. They were so similar, yet at the same time so different. Ryder was a good guy and Cat deserved someone like that in her life. She had faced many hardships in her life and she truly did deserve to be happy with someone.

She had told me this one night at a sleepover just how bad her childhood had been. She didn't use to be this perky and overly optimistic young girl that she is now. At one point Cat had been a normal teenager, but things had gone wrong with her parents.

The man Cat refers to as "dad" isn't her actual father but rather her step father. Her biological father used to abuse her mother when she was a kid. Cat would hear it through the walls of her room and she'd hide under her bed trying to block out all the bad stuff. That's why now at this point in her life Cat tends to block out the negative in life.

It's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Cat is usually happy and grateful for the good things in her life. But this makes it hard for her to deal with hard situations in life. Cat has her dysfunction but then again who doesn't?

It used to be a lot worse especially when she was in middle school. Cat wouldn't talk to anyone at school and she would keep to herself. The kids would make fun of her for it and she would cry. She'd end up on the floor of the classroom with her hands over her hears yelling "I'm under my bed!" until her mother would come to get her. But then her step father came long.

He is the kindest and good-hearted man that could ever exist. He helped Cat and her mom deal with all the issues. So Cat has come along way since her childhood and it's great to see her doing so well.

I had issues with my father too. When I was younger he left me and my mother. I was about ten years old. I saw her come home everyday and go into her room to cry. My mother paid no attention to me ever since he left. I had to raise myself all on my own and that's hard. But then he came back all of a sudden when I was entering my first year of high school at Hollywood Arts.

For some reason, he chose that he wanted to be apart of our lives now. My mom welcomed him with open arms being the weak person that she is. For the longest time, I hated both of them. My father physically left me which hurt but my mother left me emotionally. She had been just a vessel of what was left of the woman I respected.

So now I hardly have a relationship with either of them. Maybe that's why I'm so rebellious and cold to everyone. Because I'm afraid that they'll end up leaving me just like my parents did. Cat had been the only person so far that I've known for a long time to have never once turned her back on me.

We always stood by each other no matter what and that was a great thing to have in a friendship. Cat was the only person I had ever told everything about my childhood to and the same with her for me. I told Beck most of it but I felt vulnerable telling him so I just stopped.

So we were all in the choir room getting ready for the concert. The girls had on these jade green dresses with black heels that we were all supposed to wear for the group numbers. But those who had solos had brought their own individual outfits to wear for their solo.

The show would start off with the first group performance of Justin Bieber's party song "Beauty And A Beat". That was a fun routine with a bunch of wild dancing like we were in one big party. That was a good number to open up with because it would get the audience excited and flowing with good energy.

Then Blaine would perform his solo of "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars. I had asked Blaine what he using as inspiration to fuel his drive for the song. He told me that there was a time where had lost the love of his life, Kurt Hummel. Apparently Kurt had been apart of the original glee club and was now living in New York where Blaine planned to move after this year. I thought that was very touching.

Then Marley would pump up the energy with her singing of Paramore's spunky love song "Still Into You". Of course, she'd be using her current romance with Jake for this performance. It was a typical thing for an artist to use their relationships to fuel a love song. It was great because you could in fact get that lovey dovey tone across so much easier.

Then Cat would come up on stage and blow everyone away with the popular melancholy ballad of "Stay" by Rihanna. I had heard Cat practice it all week and she had it down to a science.

I would expect a standing ovation from the audience for every single of one of those solos. They had each performed them to us Thursday afternoon and they'd been completely fantastic each one of them. I had serious respect for tonight's soloists.

Soon enough the time came for the concert to start. We were taking our place's on stage when , the MC, came out to introduce us then the curtain rose up.

I got a quick glimpse to see pretty good sized crowd. It wasn't full but it was more than we expected to come since everyone in school thought of us as losers being apart of glee club. But who cared what they thought?

Then we performed like never before. I could feel the electricity and strength in our group performance. Everyone was getting good vibes from each other and emitting this powerful force as a group voice. Sam was the lead vocalist in this performance and he did a very good job. Then Blaine did the rap part very spot on full of the attitude needed for such a saucy performance. I would've given it four stars out of five.

Then we were engulfed by the sound of applause once the number ended and we all rushed off stage. In the time that announced the Blaine's solo he changed into his a great suit with a purple under shirt and tie.

He told me that he wanted to look sophisticated since he was singing about being a man so he took it seriously. He looked killer handsome in his get up. I mean it was one thing to look good but he looked damn good.

Blaine's performance earned him a standing ovation which was no surprise to me. He took his gracious bow and was off the stage quickly.

Marley took the center stage looking ravishing in her sort of rock kind of look. She had asked Cat and I for advice on how to dress for this. She wanted to combine both of our styles as she had told us at the mall. She said that that's how Paramore was a hard rocker but at the same time a girly girl full of life and color.

So she wore a red leather jacket with a black tank top, a bright purple skirt with black leggings and a purple colored wig to finish the crazy punk chick look off. She actually looked like she fit the bill of someone who would perform this song to her fans. Even though it was a bit out there for Marley's style. She owned it well.

Then once again it was no surprise to see a crowd upon their feet applauding sincerely as Marley took her bow at the end of her performance. She had spectacular as well. She walked off stage and then it was my best friend's turn to take it.

Cat was wearing this long white dress, the kind you'd see a girl wearing at the beach in a music video. It made her look like a hippie but she said she wanted to look pure and vulnerable. I had to give her credit where it was due, she looked like she was ready to let her out on stage.

Cat stood center stage and just as she opened her mouth to sing it happened. I was hoping so desperately for this to be some sort of nightmare. A horrifying and cruel nightmare. But after a few seconds of my eyes closed I opened them to see that nothing had changed. This had been real life.

Just as Cat was going to begin singing a large amount of liquid came splashing down upon her and she screamed in terror. The smell was vile and repulsive. Her white dress was now stained with this hideous green color and Cat looked absolutely ridiculous.

I was trying to identify what this suspicious liquid was but nothing came to mind. But that's when I saw it on the floor just behind Cat. It had spilled along with the liquid, the head of a fish. Cat was covered in fish guts and the smell became all the more disgusting.

By now the crowd was laughing at her and she ran off stage in a fit of sobs. No one moved for the longest time because we couldn't believe what had just happened. But then I shifted into best friend mode and was after her down the hallway. Ryder and Marley followed straight after me.

We found Cat in the girls restroom and we all went in to comfort her. Ryder was a bit hesitant at first go in but after I brought to his attention that there was no one in there he went in too.

Cat was washing out her face in the sink and crying at the same time. Poor Cat, she looked so defeated and frustrated. She just couldn't catch a break.

"Whoever did this is going to pay!" I shouted angrily punching the stall doors.

"Why does everyone hate me?" Cat uttered through her tears.

"Cat, no one hates you" Marley argued softly.

Then why would someone do this to me?" she asked sounding like a whimpering dog.

"Because they are just jealous of how amazing you are" Ryder said hugging her.

"Who do you think did this?" Marley asked me.

"This wasn't Kitty and Tina" I told her sternly.

"How do you know?" she returned the question.

"Because I caught a glimpse of their expressions and they were just as shocked as we all were" I explained.

"Then who?" Ryder asked.

"Bree" I answered coldly.

"You really think so?" Cat asked turning the sink water off.

"She's going to get it" I said through my teeth.

"Jade, you can't do anything crazy" Cat told me.

"How can I not? She covered you in fish guts!" I protested.

"But fighting fire with more fire won't solve anything" Cat explained.

"Then I'll just burn her to the ground!" I exclaimed angrily.

"Jade..." Cat trailed off.

"The next time I see her she is going down" I told everyone leaving the restroom.

**Cat's POV:**

"Ryder, can you go get Cat's clothes from the choir room?" Marley requested.

"Yeah, sure" he answered. "I'll be back, babe" Ryder said kissing my forehead. He tried to hide his face of disgust when he tasted the fish guts but it was too vile to just ignore.

"Marley..." I began to tell her something.

"Yeah?" Marley questioned.

"I'm worried about Jade" I told her.

"Do you really think she'll do something bad?" she asked.

"Jade is a wild card. You can never predict what she is going to do" I answered. "I don't want her getting in trouble again" I finished.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she has better judgment" Marley reassured me.

"Not when her anger gets out of control" I argued.

The rest of the group quickly cleaned up the fish guts and performed the last number while Marley and I spent the rest of the concert in the restroom trying to get me feeling better and smelling better. Even after several shots of her perfume, I still reeked.

"Thanks for staying here with me Marley" I thanked.

"No problem, you'd do the same for me" she replied smiling.

"Yeah, you're a good friend" I told her.

"Thanks, Cat" she said.

"So how are things between you and Jake?" I asked.

She didn't answer for the longest time. But she finally took in a deep breathe and let it out. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself when she began talking.

"I don't know...Jake's been acting distant lately" she confessed.

"You've been drifting apart?" I questioned.

"It feels like it. Sometimes when he is there, he's not really there" she explained. "It's like he has gotten bored with me or something" she continued. "It might be cause I don't want to go all the way yet" she finished.

"Marley, you shouldn't feel pressured to do anything you're not ready. I know if Ryder pressured me that's what I would tell him. I'm not ready for that either" I confessed to her.

"Really?" she turning to face me. "I thought I was the only one who felt like that" she told me.

"No, I feel ya girl" I told her giggling.

"I just don't want to lose him. I love him" she told me.

"I'm sure he loves you too and doesn't want to lose you either" I told her. "Maybe you should talk to him and figure out what the root of the problem with it is" I advised.

"Yeah, you're right" she agreed. "Who knows? Maybe it's just all in my head" she stated.

"Come on, Marley. We should get going" I told her as we left the restroom.

**Monday morning at school...**

**Jade's POV: **

I was bent on revenge. I didn't know what I would do but I had to do something. Something to prove to Bree that we wouldn't put up with her crap. That's when I spotted the perfect opportunity. I saw her head into the restroom and I followed her in.

"Everybody but Bree get out!" I commanded viciously and they all followed my orders.

"What do you want?" she asked me not even looking me face to face.

"Just admit it. You're the one who spilled fish guts on Cat" I exclaimed.  
"I would do it again in a heartbeat. I told you two not to cross me and now she's the laughing stock of the school" Bree said with a smug smile.

"You really just want to get destroyed, don't you?" I asked her with my famous wicked smile.

"You can't do anything to me" she answered arrogantly.

"I could beat you up right now" I told her quickly.

"So what?" Bree said. "You'd get kicked out and I would win" she answered.

"True, but just know that you're going to regret the day you were born" I warned her as I turned to leave the bathroom.

"Don't threaten me" Bree told me.

That's when I turned around and as quick as a whip I kneed her on the side of her stomach and she instantly fell over.

I knelt down and looked at her face to face. "You don't ever tell me what to do again" I growled at her and walked out of the restroom proudly.

Now I would just wait to strike. That would be the best revenge to find a way to bring her crashing down and then she'll feel my true wrath.

One thing everyone should know is that you never mess with a psycho.


	6. Chapter 6: Going On

**Chapter 6: Going On**

**Cat's POV:**

There was only two weeks left until Nationals and everyone was getting excited and stressed at the same time. Unlike Jade and I, everyone on the glee club had been working towards this the entire they had been here. I was getting nervous too, knowing that their was a lot riding on our victory at the competition.

Of course, I had been humiliated at the concert by Bree but it happened and I was over it now. I had great friends and an amazing boyfriend to help me get through it. It also helped that Jade was able to intimidate anyone who tried to pick on me by calling me names in the hallways. It had only happened last Friday and I was pretty much okay now.

Today was Tuesday and I was at glee rehearsals with everyone after school

that I cared about. I was working with my passion for music, so how could I be unhappy? Jade was actually more upset about it than I was. But I told her to just let it go and she was trying her hardest to do so.

I had Ryder on my right holding my hand and he was listening to my conversation with Jade about stories back in California.

"So let me get this straight you guys went to jail in a foreign country because your friend's shoe with their president and your other friend killed his octopus?" Ryder questioned unable to believe it,

"Yeah" I answered.

"That about sums it up" Jade agreed.

"Wow, so the rumors are true. California people are crazy" he chuckled.

That's when we were taken aback when Tina and Kitty approached us slowly.

"I don't care if Schue is here or not, I will beat you down" Jade growled.

"Can't we have just one moment of peace at rehearsals?" Ryder groaned.

"No, we're not here to cause trouble" Tina explained.

"Yeah, we are actually here to..." Kitty trailed off swallowing hard.

"Kitty!" Tina exclaimed nudging Kitty with her elbow.

"To apologize" Kitty said quietly.

"What?" Ryder questioned.

"Come again" I said in the same manner.

"Oh, please!" Jade argued.

"No, we mean it" Kitty protested.

"We realized that there is no way we are going to win Nationals if we are emotionally divided as a team against each other" Tina explained. "We just want to put this all behind us and start over" she finished.

"Yeah, we truly mean it" Kitty emphasized. "So what do you think?" she asked us.

"Cat?" Jade questioned.

"What? Why me?" I questioned.

"Because you were the main one to get hurt in all this mess" Ryder answered.

"We'll go with what you say" Jade explained.

"Well I think everyone deserves a second chance" I smiled. "I'm willing to forgive you guys" I told them.

"Great" Tina said smiling as well.

"Cool" Kitty stated.

"I'm glad we can all be at peace now" Ryder told us.

"Just don't do it again" Jade said with a wicked smile.

"Yay! Friendship!" I exclaimed excited.

"Well I'm glad to hear such things" interjected in front of the room.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Kitty teased.

"Yeah and I'm glad that I did" he answered "Tina was right, we can't win at Nationals unless we are all in this together completely" he continued his speech. "Now that we are, we can finally begin deciding on our final set list for Nationals" announced earning cheers from everyone.

Kitty and Tina took seats behind us and for once the tension was gone in the choir room. It was a feeling I was hoping for since the very beginning and now it was here.

"We get three numbers to perform for Nationals" he told us. "I have decided what they are going to be. First we are going to open up with a small group number consisting of Marley, Unique, Jade, Cat, Tina and Kitty" he announced.

"Sounds way cool" Marley commented.

"All the divas of glee club together for one number" Unique added.

"What song will it be?" Jade asked.

"I thought it over and thought a spicy and kind of saucy girl number would be great for this. So I chose 'Let It Go' by Brit and Alex" he answered.

"Are you sure about that?" Tina questioned.

"That song is so unknown" Kitty added.

"Exactly, my point. You guys can add your glee girl flare to give it a whole new color to it" reassured us excitedly.

"I'm always up for a challenge" Jade stated.

"I'm down for it" I agreed.

"Moving on, after the girls open up with their power number it's time for the usual solo slot" explained.

"Who gets the solo?" Tina asked breaking the long moment of silence.

"It's not going to be a solo but a duet" answered.

"So who is getting it?" Kitty asked.

"I want to do a ballad and I believe that Marley and Jade would do a spectacular job with this" he answered.

"He's right" Tina commented. "Jade and Marley both rock ballads" she added.

That left everyone kind of stunned that Tin was actually okay with not getting a solo or some sort of spotlight at the competition.

"Yeah, they'll make us proud" Kitty said.

"We'll do our best" Marley told them. "You ready for this Jade?" Marley asked playfully.

"Just be sure to keep up with me" Jade teased.

"Glad to hear all this positive feedback from all of you" commented full of excitement. "The song Marley and Jade will tackle together will be 'By The Grace Of God' by Katy Perry" told us.

"I love that song" Marley commented.

"I agree, that's some of her best work" Jade added.

"I can't wait to hear it!" Unique exclaimed happy.

"Then the group number will obviously involve everyone and it will be 'Really Don't Care' by Demi Lovato" he told us.

"Why that song, ?" Jake questioned.

"Because it is a fun and energetic song to get us back from the ballad. Trust me, it's going to be tons of fun" he answered.

"Well I trust " I told him.

"Same here" Jade agreed.

"Let's do it" Ryder added.

**A few days later...**

It was now Thursday and the passed few days my thoughts had been centered on glee. Every single day that passed meant that it was only a day closer to the competition that now meant the world to me as well. I was putting my entire heart and soul into this. Jade hates to admit it, but so was she.

I was walking down the hallway on my way to my last class when someone got in my way. Of course it had to be my only enemy left in the school, Bree.

"Hey fish face" Bree insulted me.

"Hello Bree" I told her smiling. I made it clear to her that she wasn't getting to me and that made her angry.

"Did you finally get the fish guts out of your hair?" Bree taunted me.

"Bree, there's nothing you can do to get to me now" I answered moving around her.

I heard her grunt in frustration and she was now walking beside me attempting desperately to get my attention. Her insults just kept bouncing off of me like bullets to a force field and now I was giggling.

"So your friend Marley is dating Jake, right?" Bree asked me.

This caught me off guard because she went from insulting me to jumping to Marley's relationship with Jake out of nowhere. "Yeah, so?" I questioned confused.

"So she has no idea?" Bree asked me with a tone of fake shock.

"No idea about what?" I asked her now facing her.

"Oh so now I have your attention" she commented.

"What about Jake?" I asked seriously.

"Oh nothing just that he has been spending time with a certain other female" Bree told me purposely avoiding to tell me the whole story. She loved that I was giving her my full attention and that she had sparked my attention. She wanted to toy with me.

"What are you getting at?" I questioned.

"I think you know what I'm getting at" Bree told me with a sly smile.

"That Jake likes to spend time with his mother?" I questioned confused.

"What? No!" Bree exclaimed.

"His grandmother?" I asked again.

"No! Are you seriously that stupid?" Bree asked me sarcastically.

"Shut up and tell me!" I exclaimed.

"Jake is cheating on Marley" she answered.

"What?" I said covering my hands with my mouth that was dropped open in shock.

"Yeah, he's been having sex with this certain girl too" she added enjoying my distress.

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"Because I am that girl" she told me with an evil smile.

"Why would you do such a thing?" I exclaimed.

"First of all, Jake came looking for me. He wanted me because Marley wouldn't give it up to him. Second of all, I did it because Jake is hot and I want him for me. Third of all, it's fun screwing with little " Bree told me.

"No, you're just telling me this to mess with my head or something" I told her walking away.

"Why on Earth would I tell you this if it wasn't true?" Bree questioned.

"Because...because...you're evil!" I exclaimed unable to come up with any logical explanation.

"Check his phone if you don't believe me. We've been texting back and forth" she told me.

"It can't be true...can it?" I whispered to myself as I walked off to my last class of the day.

I sat down at my usual seat and pulled out my phone to have a text conversation with the only person who I knew would help me get to Jake's phone without anyone knowing why.

**Me: Jade!**

**Jade: What?**

**Me: I need your help.**

**Jade: I'm not helping you dye your hair again. :(**

**Me: That's not what I need help with...but why not?**

**Jade: Because the red dye stains badly!**

**Me: Okay, fine. :(**

**Jade: CAT!**

**Me: Hiiiii! :D**

**Jade: What did you need help with?**

**Me: Oh yeah! I need your help to get Jake's phone.**

**Jade: Why?**

**Me: Because Bree told me something about him and I need to figure out if it's true. **

**Jade: It's going to be a challenge but I can manage it.**

**Me: Alright, got any ideas?**

**Jade: Do you know who you're talking to?**

**Me: I have you under 'Jade' in my contacts.**

**Jade: I think Jake leaves his phone in his backpack while in the glee rehearsals. **

**Me: Kay kay.**

**Jade: Nationals practice takes place in the auditorium today, so you ask to go to the restroom and go through his backpack and check his phone.**

**Me: Alright, I got it. But doesn't Jake usually go to the restroom during glee practice too?**

**Jade: Yeah, but you just leave that up to me. **

**Me: Okey dokey**

**Jade: Don't say that. **

**Me: Okay... :(**

Okay, so the plan was set. I would go check Jake's phone during rehearsal and Jade would distract Jake if he tries to go to the restroom. I was really hoping that this wasn't true and that it was just Bree trying to mess with me.

Marley would be crushed and then the glee club would be separated again. Of course, Marley being my friend had to come first. I couldn't put the competition first, if Jake was cheating it was my duty as a friend to let her know.

**Later at glee rehearsals in the auditorium...**

" can I go to the restroom?" I asked nervously.

"Sure, just hurry back we are going to do the girl number next" he answered.

I nodded and scurried out of the auditorium feeling like a criminal.

I made my way into the choir room and found Jake's backpack next to Marley's things. I shuffled through his stuff and realized that he was kind of a messy person. I eventually found his phone in the smallest and front pocket of his backpack.

It was a black iPhone 5 that had a black and red case on it. I tried to unlock it but then grunted in frustration as it had a lock code on it. I hadn't thought far enough of what to do if it had been locked.

"Damn" I cursed under my breath. I never cursed unless I was completely alone and was really frustrated at a task.

"Cat?" I heard a voice question behind me.

"Hi Kitty" I told her hiding Jake's phone behind my back.

"Why do you have Jake's phone?" she asked curiously.

"Kitty, we are friends now right?" I questioned.

"Yeah, so?" she answered confused.

"I need your help" I told her.

"With what?" she asked.

"Unlocking Jake's phone" I told her presenting her with the phone I had done a poor job at concealing.

"Oh that's easy" she told me. She took the phone from me and with a couple of clicks I heard it unlock with the typical iPhone sound.

"How did you do that?" I asked shocked as she she handed me back the phone.

"I sit in the back for a reason. I know everyone's phone lock codes in the glee club, even 's" Kitty answered with a wink as she left the room.

"I've got to remember to change my code later" I told myself.

Okay, now I had to hurry. I had already wasted a few minutes just sitting here trying to unlock it on my own then discussing with Kitty. I went through his text messages and found nothing from Bree. That made me sigh in relief.

But as I was about to put his phone back it made a noise indicating that he had gotten a notification. It was a text message from the one person I was hoping it wouldn't be from: Bree.

**Bree: Last night was really good ;)**

**When are we going to meet up again? **

I just stood there for a minute. Bree had been right. She and Jake were doing it behind Marley's back. How long had this been going on? It obviosuly wasn't the first time. What was more disgusting was that he had been doing things with her for a while and not telling Marley about it.

"What are you doing with my phone?" the last voice I wanted to hear coming from behind me.

"How could you?" I asked him slowly turning around, phone in hand.

"Do what?" he questioned me.

"Bree told me and I saw the text from her just now" I stated coldly.

"Why were you going through my phone?" he asked angrily snatching it from my hands.

"Because Bree told me that you were having sex with her! Is that true?" I shouted back at him.

He didn't answer me for the longest time. He just stood there unable to meet my gaze and he just kept sighing trying to find the words.

"I thought you loved Marley" I told him.

"I do!" he argued.

"Then why are you off with Bree?" I argued back.

"Because...Marley won't have sex with me" Jake admitted.

"That's not a reason" I told him sharply.

"I know, but it's the only reason" he told me ashamed.

"Jake I thought you were a good guy" I told him shaking my head at him.

"I am! Or at least...I thought I was" Jake said again.

"Marley's going to be crushed" I stated feeling horrible.

"You can't tell Marley" he protested.

"I have to! She is my friend!" I argued with him.

"But I don't want to lose her" he told me tears in his eyes.

"Then you should've stayed away from Bree" I told him.

"I know" he groaned sadly.

"The sickest part is that you sought after her. Marley loves you" I told him and I could see in his expression that that hit him like a punch in the stomach.

"Please don't tell Marley" he begged me in a low voice.

"I have to tell Marley" I told him.

Tell Marley what?" Marley's voice came from the doorway.

I looked passed Jake to see Jade and Marley walking in.

" sent us to come check up on both of you" Jade explained closing the door behind them as they entered.

"What do you guys have to tell me?" Marley questioned with a concerned expression.

"Jake, do you want to take this one?" I asked him directing all the attention to him.

"Marley, I love you" he said facing her with a painful expression.

"What's going on?" Marley questioned taking a step back.

"You cheated on her!" Jade exclaimed shocked as she figured out what had been going on.

"Cheating? Jake? What?" Marley questioned everyone unable to make sense of it all.

"Jake's been hooking up with Bree behind your back" I told her.

"Jake...please tell me this isn't true" Marley pleaded tears already rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry..." was all he said.

"How could you? And with her out of everybody?" Marley exclaimed emotionally upset.

"Marley I-" Jake tried to tell her but she slapped him.

"Let's go, Marley" I told her.

"We'll take you home" Jade said.

"No, none of us can miss glee rehearsal" Marley stated. "This time is invaluable" Marley told us.

"She's right" I stated.

"Then both of you put on fake faces and let's get back to rehearsal" Jade ordered them.

Jake took a deep breath and began to leave. "Marley I do love you" he said turning back to look at her with his eyes full of despair.

"Yesterday, I would've believed you" Marley told him.

Jake took that like a blow to the heart and it was clear on his face that he was suffering but he made his way out.

Jade and I did our best to comfort Marley so she could continue on through glee rehearsals. She did a good job but every now and then I saw a tear go down her cheeks. Jade and I were relieved when glee rehearsal ended so we could take Marley home.

"Come on Marley, let's take you home" Jade told her as we led her out of the auditorium.

"Do you think I could spend the night at your house?" Marley asked still feeling upset.

"Yeah that'd be fine, but why?" I asked.

"Because if I go home my mom will see me upset and I can't worry her. She has too many health problems to be dealing with teenage drama" Marley explained.

"Alright, that's cool" Jade agreed with me.

"Just let your mom know that you'll be with us" I told her.

"I have some extra clothes in my locker. I'll go get them to change into for tomorrow at school" Marley explained.

"Why do you have extra clothes at school?" I questioned.

"Around here, members of glee club are seen as uncool. Some of the popular kids like to throw slushies at us and I realized that having an extra pair of clothes saves me the embarrassment of walking around with stained clothes all day" Marley told us.

"Alright, well go get them and we'll make our way out" I told her.

"Okay, be back soon" Marley answered.

**Some time later...**

**Jade's POV:**

We had taken Marley home with us and were now in the living room watching a movie about vampires falling in love with humans. The only parts I enjoyed were the bloody ones where people and supernatural creatures died. I had no interest for the sappy love story that most teenage girls desired so desperately.

"Are you doing okay?" Cat asked Marley who sat beside her on the larger couch while I sat on the recliner.

"Yeah, it just seems like such a blurr" Marley told me. "Jake was a womanizer and a player who treated woman like crap but I thought that he had changed. I thought that I meant so much more to him than that" she told me gazing off into the distance.

"Marley, this wasn't your fault" I reassured her.

"Maybe if I had just given in-" Marley tried to argue but I interrupted her.

"Marley, boys are boys. They are horny and disgusting creatures. If you're not ready to take those big steps then there is no way of changing that. If you enter something that you're not ready to do it could mess you up later in life" I told her.

"Jade is right. You shouldn't be pressured into doing anything you're not comfortable doing" Cat agreed with me.

"Yeah, you're right. I just wanted an excuse to be able to let myself take him back" Marley confessed.

"You shouldn't take him back" I interjected. "He betrayed the trust you two formed as a couple. That kind of trust is something that is very hard to build up again" I told her.

"Thanks, Jade. I need a voice of hard and cold reason in these times" she thanked.

"That's what I'm here for" I told her with a chuckle.

"Yep, Jade's a pro and being a cold hearted person" Cat stated.

That's when we heard the doorbell rign.

"That's probably the pizza man!" Cat exclaimed excited. "I'll go get it!" she exclaimed again rushing off towards the front door.

"Don't worry, you'll get through this" I reassured Marley.

"Really? It doesn't feel like it now" Marley admitted.

"Yeah, take it from me. I went through a hard break up and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again" I confessed to her.

"That's cause you're a strong girl, Jade" Marley said. "I'm just a weak and soft girl" she said glumly.

"All women are strong, they just have to find that inner source of power to drive it" I argued. "You'll find it and when you do, no one can strike you down for good anymore" I finished my explanation.

"Hey! You're not the pizza guy" Cat stated.

"Can I please speak to Marley?" Jake's voice echoed through the large house.

"She's not here" Cat lied badly.

"I went to Marley's house and her mother said she was spending the night here" Jake argued.

"Hold on, one moment" Cat stated and I heard the front door close softly.

"What's up Cat?" I questioned hearing her approach the living room.

"Jake wants to talk to you, Marley" Cat explained.

"Alright, I'm going" Marley said getting up from her seat.

"You sure?" Cat questioned.

"I've got a carton of raw eggs ready for launch" I protested.

"No, I've got to face him and figure out where we are going as a couple" Marley assured us. "I'll be back in a bit" she said going off towards the front door.

**Marley's POV:**

My heart was beating fast and heavily. It was like a horse's hooves slapping against the dirt floor hard and cold. The beating got so fast and fierce that it felt like it was a drum banging against my head. I began to second guess myself but then I remembered what Jade had said about being a strong person. I just had to find my drive, my own personal fire to draw strength from.

I took a deep breath and opened the door to find the face of the man I loved so dearly. The face so soft and so handsome that I couldn't help but feel the impulse to jump into his arms and just love him. But I knew that wasn't what I have to do. I had to stand my ground and deal this with dignity.

"Hey" Jake greeted me with shame all over his face.

"Jake, you really hurt me" I stated abruptly.

"Marley, I know that-" Jake began to explain but I interrupted him.

"It would be considered a mistake if it happened once and if she seduced you. But you went after her and it's been going on for two weeks. Jake that's not okay" I told him fighting back my tears.

"I don't know what got into me" he replied but I shook my head.

"You knew exactly what you were doing. You have no excuse. You kept going back to her, but why? I thought you wanted to be with me" I protested.

"You're right, I was being an idiot" he agreed.

"You're damn right" I told him.

"But, Marley I do love you. I love you more than any other girl I've ever been with" Jake told me looking directly into my eyes. How could I resist those perfect and warm eyes? They were so inviting and loveable.

"Jake, right now I can't trust you" I told him.

"I know, but we can work on that. Trust can be rebuilt" he pleaded.

Jake, how am I supposed to be sure that you won't go out and do this to me again?" I questioned tears now down my cheeks.

"I..." he began to say something but he didn't have a leg to stand on.

"She's still going to be there at school and I'm not budging on this whole sex thing. Now that this has happened you've completely ruined your chances at me being ready anytime soon" I exclaimed to him.

"Marley, please. I love you" he told me.

"Jake, the sad fact is that I still love you too" I told him.

"That's great" he stated hopefully.

"No, it's not" I told him. "Jake, you cheated on me but I still love you. What does that say about how I love myself?" I admitted to him.

"Oh..." Jake uttered understanding where I was going.

"If I get back together with you now, then I'm that girl who doesn't have enough self respect to choose a guy who respects her and truly does love her" I told him.

"What are you saying?" Jake asked dreading the answer we both knew I would give.

"Jake...we can't be together" I told him through my tears.

"I understand" he told me.

"Goodbye, Jake" I told him.

"Bye, Marley" Jake told me as he gave me a hug. Jake quickly let go realizing that we were both too emotionally unstable to be in that close of contact.

I watched him walk off the lot and into his car then drive off into the distance.

"And there goes my heart" I whispered to myself sobbing painfully now.


End file.
